PontyPandy Fire
by GTheRantingGriffin
Summary: James has completed his training at Cardiff Fire Academy. He aspires to follow in his Uncle's footsteps. He gets a slice into what it's like to save lives and fight fires. This is a slice of life fanfic. Rated T for suggestive themes, extreme scenes of danger, swearing, and more.
1. Chapter 1

_**God Kvall everyone**_ _ **.**_ _ **It**_ _ **'**_ _ **s yours truly Melonsworth here back with another fanfiction for you wonderful people**_ _ **.**_ _ **I have decided to do a slice of life fanfiction**_ _ **.**_ _ **Something I really don**_ _ **'**_ _ **t see done here**_ _ **.**_ _ **People could be doing it and I**_ _ **'**_ _ **ve just been a tad bit blind to it**_ _ **.**_ _ **Anyway, I needed to work on something else at the same time as Hero Down**_ _ **.**_ _ **So, if nightmarish themes, blood, gore, and unsolved arson are not your thing then maybe this fanfic is**_ _ **.**_

 _ **I do have rules about my review section**_ _ **.**_ _ **Please do not post mean**_ _ **/**_ _ **rude**_ _ **/**_ _ **weird comments in my review section**_ _ **.**_ _ **Please do not spam for updates**_ _ **.**_ _ **Also, no conspiracy theories about Buck Douglas doing any sort of wrong doing**_ _ **.**_ _ **I will start kicking people who violate my terms of service**_ _ **.**_ _ **It**_ _ **'**_ _ **s getting tiresome reading some of the reviews you guys leave only for it to be those things that I**_ _ **'**_ _ **ve mentioned above**_ _ **.**_ _ **It**_ _ **'**_ _ **s fine if you have feedback or an idea but I really hate seeing comments like**_ _ **:**_ _ **Do a chapter where Sam and Elvis are fighting over Penny or How about you make each one of the fire fighters fall in love**_ _ **.**_

 _ **Like I said you are welcomed to suggest ideas or give feedback but do not do what I have already mentioned**_ _ **.**_

 _ **That**_ _ **'**_ _ **s enough of me rambling now on with the story**_ _ **.**_

Chapter One: he follows the same path as the others.

Dawn rose over the town of PontyPandy. The first few rays poked in through the window of James' bedroom. James stirred from his sleep. He yawned and stretched. "today is the day." He whispered. He tossed the blankets back. Today James was starting his first day as a firefighter in training. His uncle, Sam offered to take him under his wing. James walked downstairs. His mother was the first person to greet him. She smiled at him. "how are you feeling love?" she asked. "I'm well. I'm a little nervous though. To think I barely graduated from the academy." She put his breakfast down on the table. "you'll be okay dear. I just know you'll do well on your first day." She kissed his cheek. Bronwyn's hair had gotten a tad bit grey with age. Charlie had passed away tragically in an accident at sea. This left his older brother, Hoshi to be the main provider for the house. He was busy with Ben out Titan. James ate his breakfast slowly. "it's a shame that dad isn't here." He whispered. "I really wanted him to be here." Bronwyn pulled James into a hug. "I know love but remember, he's always with you." He smiled at her. He soon finished eating. "thanks mom. I'd best be off now." Bronwyn stopped him. "aren't you forgetting to do something?" James looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was still dressed in his nightwear. "oops." He laughed shaking his head. "I'll head upstairs and get changed."

He tip toed past Sarah's room. His sister was a local reporter for PontyPandy Times. Her shift didn't start for another two hours. James quickly changed into his light blue polo shirt that had the PontyPandy Fire Brigade seal on the back and dark blue jeans. He tip-toed downstairs again. James walked out of the café. He had high hopes in his heart about today. "Hey James!" shouted a low rough voice behind him. He turned around to see his brother, Hoshi standing behind him. "Hey Hoshi." Greeted James. Hoshi was a sea-born pirate back in his early days of life. He had been caught by the Welsh Navy outside of the Mediterranean. When given the choice of either joining the Navy or spending a few years in jail, he chose the Navy. Now, Hoshi is one of PontyPandy's respected Coast Guards. "you look like a scared sea-pup. You really have nothing to worry about James. You know you can trust the people at the fire station." James chuckled. "I know. I'm can't believe that everything had happened so quickly ya know?" Hoshi nodded. He leaned on the railing. "well you better hop to it. I know Uncle Sam is the Fire Captain now but first impressions are everything." James nodded. "I'll see you later Hoshi." Hoshi waved his brother off. He flicked the tip of the cigar he had in his mouth onto the ground.

James arrived at the fire station. There was no one around in the garage. "guys?" he shouted. He went upstairs. The lounge was in complete darkness. He barely got a foot into the door when suddenly the light came back on. Each member of the brigade, new and old, came out from various hiding spaces in the lounge. "Surprise!" they shouted. There was a banner hanging above the kitchen area in the lounge with the words: Welcome to The Team James written on it. Sam was the first to approach James. "we figured we would throw a party to celebrate your first day here." James cracked a grin. "thanks Fire Captain Jones. I love it." Sam shook his head. "that's Fire Captain Sam to you." He countered with a wink. "now come on that cake isn't going to eat itself." Penny cut James a slice of cake. "I can't wait to start working alongside you James." She said. James nodded. "yeah and I can't wait to get started." He took the cake slice from her. Ellie clapped him on his shoulder. "who knows? Maybe you'll turn out just like your Uncle." James chuckled nervously. "his shoes are kind of hard to fill Ellie. Besides I'm not as brave as my Uncle." He took a bite of his cake slice. Ellie sat by him. "how do you know? You haven't started doing any rescues yet." Just then the alarm went off. James got up from the table. "spoke too soon." He slid down the pole behind his workmates. He turned to his Uncle. "James, you're going out in Jupiter with Elvis and Arnold. Penny will be following behind you guys in Venus." James nodded. He grabbed his helmet from the shelf. He then quickly changed into his firefighter's uniform. "what's the emergency Sam?" asked Penny. "there's a fire at the museum. You guys will need to deal with it quickly." James nodded. He got into Jupiter with Elvis and Arnold. He sat between the two of them. Elvis started Jupiter up. They pulled away from the fire station.

A pillar of smoke arose from the museum. The few tongues of fire burst out through the windows. James inhaled sharply. "we'll need to get the fire out before it does any more damage." Elvis nodded. "right, Penny and I will go into the building and see if anyone is trapped. You and Arnold will need to douse the flames out with water." James saluted Elvis. "will do." He quickly opened Jupiter's lockers. Elvis and Penny handed their oxygen tags off to Arnold who put them into the electronic clipboard. The screen flashed showing their profile pictures along with a meter monitoring their oxygen. "Firefighter Morris air 100% Firefighter Cridlington air 100%." Arnold watched them disappear into the building. Any visibility that they had was blocked off by the smoke and flames. Some of the exhibitions had caught fire. "this isn't good." Muttered Penny. Elvis nodded. "you check the top floor while I check the ground floor." Penny rushed as quickly as she could upstairs. She avoided the incoming debris that landed behind her. "Shit." Her path had been cut off. "Elvis!" she yelled. Elvis heard Penny shouting for her. "I won't have a way of coming back down the stairs." He frowned under his mask. "you'll need to find another way around." He looked around the ground floor for an exit. He spotted a set of stairs that was near the gift shop. He ran back to the main foyer. "Penny, take the stairs located off to the far left. They lead into the gift shop." Penny gave him a thumb up. She checked each one of the rooms for survivors. She took out her walkie talkie. "everyone seems to have evacuated Elvis." Her radio crackled. "that's good. Proceed back downstairs." She put her radio back on her chest. "help." Came a voice. Penny paused. She noticed someone was hiding underneath one of the desks. The female coughed again. Penny knelt down. "I spoke too soon." Penny got close to the desk. "are you okay?" asked Penny. The female nodded coughing. "I'm going to get you out of here but I want you to stay as low to the ground as you can get okay?" She took the females' hand. She lead the female away from the desk.

James and Arnold rushed in behind Elvis. They began hosing the flames on the ground floor down. Arnold looked at Elvis. "any sign of Penny?" Elvis shook his head. "it's starting to worry me. I'm going to head upstairs and check on her. She could be in trouble." James' heart was pounding in her chest. "be careful Elvis." Warned Arnold. Elvis left them to fight the fire on their own. He knew he had to find Penny before the building came down around them. Penny and the female were walking down the hall carefully. They got close to an elevator. The gas line in the roof had been exposed to the rising tempatures. The metal that was keeping the gas protected met the flames causing the line to explode. Penny felt the ground underneath them suddenly shake. She gasped seeing a torrent of flames coming straight for them. Penny noticed a crowbar was laying on the ground. She grabbed it and pried the elevator doors open. The elevator room itself was sitting about a few inches below them. "quickly into the elevator shaft now!" ordered Penny. The female nodded. She dropped down onto the elevator. Penny followed after her. Her back barely being missed by the fires' tongue. She could feel the heat on her back as she dropped down next to the female. The fire burned through two of the cables causing the elevator to rock into the wall. The female screamed grabbing onto the railing. Penny began sliding down next to her. She slid past the female only to have the female grab her hand.

Elvis felt the explosion rock the ground underneath him. "that's not good. That means James and Arnold will have to use sticky foam in order to put the fire out now." He then gasped. "Penny was on this floor!" he grabbed his radio off of his chest. "Penny! Come in Penny! Are you okay? Over." He called over the radio. Penny heard Elvis' voice on her radio. She carefully reached for her walkie. "Elvis you need to get to the elevator shaft now. I found a survivor but her and I are in a troubling position. Over." Elvis gulped. "okay Penny hold in there. Try to stay calm." He put his radio back on his chest.

 _ **Tell me what you guys think in the comment section**_ _ **.**_ _ **I will see you guys in the next chapter**_ _ **.**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Penny tried her best to keep calm. Hanging inches away from her death wasn't on her agenda. She felt the elevator suddenly shake. The female next to her let out a scream. Her hold got tight on the railing. The alarm went off on Penny's breathing apparatus vest. She managed to check the meter on her oxygen. She only had about 30 minutes of air left. She only hoped Elvis was able to get her fast enough. She looked up at the female. "stay calm. You'll be okay." Comforted Penny. The female glanced down at Penny. "what's your name?" questioned Penny in hopes of distracting the female. "Arian. Aria for short." Penny smiled under her mask. "I'm Penny. I have help coming for us. There's no since in wasting oxygen by panicking." Embers floated down gently around them. They were being held up by two wires. Penny knew that at any second another explosion could go off. "let's try to stay calm." Aria looked up. "do you think they'll be able to find us down here?" Penny nodded. Penny touched another button on her vest. A high pitched squeal went off. Aria flinched hearing it. Elvis heard the faint alarm sound coming from the opened Elevator door. He ran jumping over a pile of burning wood. He carefully got the edge of the elevator before peering down. He saw Aria and Penny dangling helplessly off the top of the elevator. Elvis got on his radio. "Elvis to James and Arnold. Elvis to James and Arnold. Do you copy? Over." His radio crackled to life. "we hear you very loud and clear Elvis. What's up?" Elvis looked back at Penny and Aria. "I've found Penny with a survivor down an elevator shaft. I need you guys to bring the abseiling equipment from Jupiter upstairs. Hurry Penny and the survivor don't have long."

James rushed out to Jupiter. He quickly got the abseiling equipment out from the back locker. He quickly went back inside again. Arnold began coughing. "you go James. I'm about ready to run out of oxygen." James gulped. "are you sure?' Arnold nodded. "yeah. I'm sure you've got this." James exhaled sharply. James took the stairs behind the gift shop. The building rocked again. Another gas line exploded. James gasped gripping the railing. His heart pounded in his chest. He continued walking up the stairs. He spotted Elvis on the other end of the hallway. The floor shook again unbalancing him. He couldn't stay upright. Burning wood crashed down all around him. James took off running. He got to the end of the hallway. "Elvis I've got it." Elvis nodded. He took the abseiling equipment from James. He began to get set up. "we need to hurry before another line explodes." James attached the line to Elvis' harness. "lower me down James." Elvis sat near the edge of the elevator shaft. He carefully scooted himself off the edge. James lowered Elvis onto the elevator. Elvis landed safely on it. He made his way over to Aria. He pulled them up. "Elvis help Aria first." Elvis nodded. He put the harness onto Aria. He motioned for James to lift her up. The building rocked again. A torrent of flames headed directly for James. James didn't know how to react. He put his arms up to protect himself. Elvis managed to reach the edge. He grabbed James pulling him down to the floor in front of the elevator. The fire burned through the remaining cables. Penny screamed grabbing onto one of the hanging wires. She began choking for air. Her oxygen tank was beginning to run out. Elvis attached the line back onto his vest. He pushed himself away from the wall. "Penny you'll have to jump!" he yelled. Penny's hands were shaking. "rock back and forth to give yourself a little momentum then on my signal toss yourself to me." Penny nodded. She lowered herself down a bit on the cable. She swung the cable back and forth with her body weight. It took away for the cable to move with enough force for her to swing on. "go!" yelled Elvis. He reached out for her. Penny screamed as she tossed herself off of the cable. Elvis managed to catch her. He kept her close to him. Penny clung to him. "I'm never doing that shit again!" she snapped. Elvis gripped onto the wall. James pulled them both up. Elvis scooted away from the elevator shaft. He rubbed Penny's back in an effort to calm her down. "James head back to Arnold and finish putting the fire out. I have Aria and Penny. We'll be right behind you."

Arnold managed to put the fire out on the ground floor. He headed upstairs. He saw James and company dart past him. James took the hose from behind. They moved in with the hose spraying the flames with water. "this isn't good." Muttered Arnold. "James head back to Jupiter and hook up the hose to the sticky foam valve." James saluted him. He rushed downstairs. He changed the hose out and turned the sticky foam valve. He headed back inside. He helped Arnold put out the rest of the fire. Arnold and James walked out of the building. "the fire is out Elvis." Panted James as he removed his oxygen mask. Ellie and Sam arrived at the scene in Hydrus. Sam ran up to them. "is everyone okay?" he asked. James nodded. "yeah apart from Penny is going to have to be treated for shock." Penny kept the blanket tight around her. She was talking to Aria. Helen checked Penny's vitals again. "her heart rate is still a little high Sam." Penny laughed. "I've been through worse Helen. I'm sure once I've calmed down I'll be able to go back to work." Helen shook her head. "I'd recommend you take some time off." Helen checked Aria's next. "we won't be able to work for quite a while so I don't mind having time off." Whispered Aria. "I'm just glad no one was seriously injured. Elvis and I will conduct the investigation with Arnold. Ellie you head back to the station with James."

James and Ellie headed back to the station in Venus. "Do you think Penny will be okay?" he asked. "yeah. She is a strong woman, James. She'll pull through." James looked out the window. He was really worried about Penny. Ellie noticed this. "tell you what once Sam, Elvis, and Arnold get back, I'll take you by the hospital and you can check on Penny alright?" James nodded. "thanks." Ellie pulled into the fire station. James headed upstairs. He decided to take a small nap on the couch in the lounge.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

James felt someone shaking him awake. James opened one eye. He saw Ellie looked down at him. "hey sleepy head. Sam is back. He's given us permission to go to Newtown and see Penny." James smiled. The both of them headed to the hospital. Penny had been hooked up to a heart monitor and IV. "their keeping me here overnight. They want to make sure I'm going to be okay before they release me." James sat on the edge of her bed. "I was really worried about you." She laughed softly. "you and Elvis both. I'll be fine." She ruffed his hair gently. "you were hanging off the edge of the elevator. You could have died." Whimpered James. "but did I?" He looks down. "this isn't the first time I've encountered death James. There was this one time that the fire station caught fire and I blacked out." He gulps. "I'm not scared of putting my life on the line for others." He nodded slowly. She smiled kindly at him. "I just need to rest and then I'll be back at the station tomorrow. I'm more worried about Aria then anything." She looked back up at Ellie. "have you heard anything on her?" she asked. Ellie shook her head. "no. I'm sure she's okay though. I'll go and check on her for you." James gulped. "I'll stay here with Penny." Ellie nodded. "alright." She headed out of the room. Penny took James' hand. He had a fast pulse.

Ellie checked in with one of the nurses. "hey there I was wondering if I could receive word on Aria's condition." The head nurse looked up at her. "Arian is doing just fine. She will be discharged in about an hour." Ellie smiled. "can I go and see her?" the head nurse nodded. "yeah her room is to the right of Penny's." Ellie knocked on Aria's door. "hey." She greeted. Aria looked up from her book. "oh hello there. I take it you're a friend of Penny's?" Ellie tilted her head to the side. "how do you know?" Aria pointed at the logo on her shirt. "Penny had the same thing on the back of her shirt." Ellie sat down in one of the chairs. "I just wanted to say thanks for saving my life. I don't know what would have happened in that fire if Penny hadn't of come to my aide." Ellie smiled. "it's no problem really." Aria sighed. "I don't know what the museum is going to do now. A lot of the artifacts were lost in the fire." Ellie thought for a moment. "maybe we can do something to help replace what was lost." Aria shook her head. "Some of them can't be replaced. I'll have to check with the professor once I get discharged." Ellie handed her a small note. "once you do give me a call." Ellie returned to Penny's room. "Aria is doing just fine. She's really thankful that you were able to get her out of there." Penny leaned back on the bed. "just a part of the job." Ellie sat down next to James. "she's worried that the museum may not be able to replace the items that were damaged. I told her that maybe the fire station could help with finding a way to replace the items." Penny nodded. A nurse walked in. "you guys may want to consider heading home now." Ellie nodded. "I'll be by to check on you again in the morning." Penny laid back down on the bed. "have fun guys."

Sam waited for Ellie and James to return to the fire station. He saw them pull up. "Hey Sam." Greeted Ellie. "so how is she?" he asked. "she'll be fine. They're keeping her overnight for observation. She'll be ready to come home in the morning." Sam let out a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad she's okay." Ellie handed him the keys to Venus. "did you guys find out what caused the fire?" she questioned. "it turns out that some faulty wiring from one of the exhibits set the building on fire. I've got Arnold and Elvis there now to help clean things up a bit." Sam looked to James. "James how about you clock out early? I bet your pretty tired from today's events." James shrugged. "not really. Will you guys be able to manage without me if I leave early?" Sam patted his shoulder gently. "yeah we'll be fine." James clocked out for the day. He put his ID card back on his belt. "have a good night James." James waved at his Uncle as he left.

James trudged through the door of the café. Bronwyn hugged him gently. "How was work?" she asked. "it was eventful. There was a fire at the museum. No one was hurt but Penny is in the hospital being treated for shock." Bronwyn kissed the top of his head. She could smell the smoke on his skin. "go upstairs and get cleaned up. Dinner is almost ready." Sarah finally came home. She put her bag down on the chair. "hey mom." She greeted. Bronwyn turned around. "hey Sarah." Sarah saw her brother sitting at the table. "so how your first day?" she asked. "it was eventful." Sarah sat down next to him. "I heard about the fire today. I just got down typing up the story for it. I hope no one was hurt." James took a sip of his tea before replying: "no, no one was hurt. Penny and Aria have been treated for shock though. Aria I believed was discharged this afternoon but Penny will be able to come home in the morning." Bronwyn sat down and had dinner with her kids. Hoshi was the last one to come home. He walked in through the door tired as could be. He huffed a small greeting to them as he headed upstairs. "poor Hoshi." Whispered James. "he works so hard for us. There must be something we can do for him." Bronwyn thought for a moment. "I'll have to think on that James."

James went to bed that evening. He laid down on his side welcoming the comfort. He closed his eyes drifting off.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

James woke up the next morning. He yawned brushing his dark blonde hair back. He quickly got changed into his uniform. He was about to pass the living room when he saw his brother sleeping on the couch still. He was dressed in his uniform still. His legs were dangling off the edge of the couch. James carefully helped his brother move up on the couch. He put a blanket across the back of his brother's back. Hoshi stirred once before going to sleep. Today Hoshi worked in Newtown as a waiter. He had about two hours before his shift. James turned to go downstairs. "James?" came Hoshi's voice tiredly. "that you I hear creeping around?" James paused. "yeah. You were sleeping off the edge of the couch again." Hoshi laughed silently. "now why doesn't that surprise me?" Hoshi sat up on the couch. He rubbed his eyes, yawning. "I better go sleep in my bed. I only have two hours before I have to go to work." Hoshi stalked off to his bedroom which had been built right next to their mom's room. James felt bad for his brother. Hoshi was working so hard to provide for the family. He took care of all the bills in the house never catching a break. Hoshi didn't like to complain and James could pick up on that. James trotted downstairs. He quickly made himself something to eat. He grabbed his keys off the counter. "James?" James looked up to see his mother at the bottom of the stairs. She had on her light pink gown. "good morning mom." He whispered. "off in a hurry?" He nodded. He gave her a hug. "I'll be careful. I promise." Bronwyn held him tightly.

James arrived at the fire station. There really wasn't anyone there a part from him and his Uncle who was in the office working on paperwork. James turned on the TV putting it on mute. He leaned back on the couch watching the news broadcast about yesterday's fire. James groaned quietly. "great just what we need, the media." He put his face into his hands. "Good Morning James." Greeted Sam. James jumped hearing his Uncle's voice. "morning Station Officer Sam." James turned around to face him. "have you heard anything about Penny yet?" questioned James. Sam shook his head. "no but your more than welcomed to call the hospital." James pulled out his cell phone. He rapid-dialed the number for the hospital. "good morning I'm Doctor Hernández of Newtown Hospital how may I help you?" she asked. "Hi I'm James Jones I'm calling about Penny Morris. She was checked into the hospital for shock." Doctor Hernández smiled. "she's doing just fine. She is just about to be discharged. You may want to send someone down to come and get her." James nodded. "I'll swing by and get her." James hung up the phone. "Sam, can I have the keys to Venus please? Penny is going to need a ride from the hospital." Same smiled. He handed him the keys. "be careful."

Penny had changed into her civical clothes. Her doctor had not given her the all clear to start work yet. She had on a button-down shirt with workout shorts. James knocked on her door. "you ready to go?" She nodded. James took her bag. He helped her get into Venus. She smiled kindly at him. "you don't need to do this you know?" he got in on the driver's side. "it's no problem really Penny. I didn't want you to be stranded." He started Venus up. "so, where am I taking you?" Penny buckled down in her seat. "the doctor says I'm going to be stuck at home for the next few days. I still need to swing by the station and let Sam know." James looked at her. "I'll tell him for you." Penny nodded. "alright." The both of them sat in silence for a while. "you look nice." James muttered after a while. "thanks." Penny brushed some of her hair back behind her ear. It had gotten streaked lightly with grey. James eyed her from the corner of his eye. Penny looked at herself again. She had problems adjusting to how she looked. "you still look lovely." Penny sighed. "I wished I believe that. I'm not as young as I used to be." He reaches for her hand. "If I may?" She looked at him. She laid her hand in his gently. He gave it a comforting squeeze. Penny relaxed in his grip. James pulled up outside of her house. He helped her inside. Penny lived by herself mostly. Her house had changed some over the years. "I haven't been here since I was a lad." He mused. Penny patted his shoulder. "it's changed a lot since the last time you've visited me." She put her bag down on the couch. She sat down by it. Her eyes had that distant look in them. She was remembering past memories. James sat down next to her. She took his hand in hers again. They sat there for a while. "you better head back to the station. No doubt you have a lot to do." James got up. "I'll come back later." He promised.

James drove Venus back to the station. He walked upstairs to find Arnold and Ellie in the lounge. "there's our local hero." James blushed madly. "I'm no hero. I was just doing my job." He sat down on the couch. "I have a brilliant idea on how we can help the museum get enough funds to replace the artifacts that were lost in the fire. We can hold a fund raiser." Arnold put his cup down. "what kind of fund raiser?" he asked. Ellie shrugged. "I didn't get that far with the planning." Arnold rolled his eyes. "it's a good concept but you really need to come up with a plan of execution." Ellie leaned backwards in her stool. "I know! How about a car wash?" Arnold shook his head. "okay, bake sale?" Arnold coiled his jaws in disgust. "have you seen Elvis try to cook?" he retorted. "How about we do a fundraiser that has something to do with the Museum?" suggested James. He then snapped his fingers. "a Cobweb Chase!" The both of them blinked at him. "you search out a historical building or homes in the area and then map it out. You take a bus load of people there but you must get the person there to tell you the history there. We can sell things like tea and lunch." Ellie nodded. "that could work. I'll talk to Aria about it."

The alarm bell suddenly rang. "Trevor's bus broke down near the cliff." Came Sam's voice over the PDA. James slid down the poll after his workmates. Sam ran out to meet them. "James, you and Elvis are going out on this one. You'll need to take Phoenix." He tossed the keys to Phoenix over to Elvis. "be careful you two. His bus is dangling dangerously close to the edge." Elvis clipped his helmet on. "we'd better hurry." James and Elvis got into Phoenix. They pulled away from the fire station. James flicked on the siren and lights. Trevor tried his best to keep Dilys and Bronwyn calm. "don't worry ladies. Help will soon be here." He comforted. The bus rocked backwards a bit. The girls gasped. James and Elvis soon arrived at the scene. "hook the line up to the front of bus, James." Ordered Elvis. "I'll go and get the passengers out of the bus." James grabbed Venus' tow hook and quickly clipped it to the front axle of the bus. He gave Elvis a thumbs up to let him know that bus was safely secured. Elvis opened the passenger door to the bus. He gasped seeing Dilys and Bronwyn aboard. He offered his hand to Dilys first. Dilys took his hand and scrambled to get off the bus. Elvis pulled her out carefully. The bus buckled again. This threw Elvis off balance. Elvis gripped the railing. He had to get Bronwyn out of there. He reached for Bronwyn. "your turn Bronwyn." Whispered Elvis. Bronwyn reached for his hand. She gripped it tightly. Elvis helped her out. James felt his heart miss crucial beats seeing the amount of danger his mother was in. He threw Venus into reverse. Venus groaned with the effort of trying to pull the bus back onto the path. It took a while but he managed to pull the bus onto the path. James wiped the sweat from his brow.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A**_ _ **/**_ _ **N**_ _ **:**_ _ **God Advall everyone**_ _ **.**_ _ **I just wanted to say thank you guys for the reviews**_ _ **.**_ _ **It appears there is a slight confusion about James**_ _ **'**_ _ **age**_ _ **.**_ _ **James is about 29 in this series**_ _ **.**_ _ **So, he**_ _ **'**_ _ **s technically an adult**_ _ **.**_ _ **When it comes to things like love you tend to forget how old a person is**_ _ **.**_ _ **I**_ _ **'**_ _ **m not saying it**_ _ **'**_ _ **s right for adults to fall in love with kids**_ _ **.**_ _ **No, that**_ _ **'**_ _ **s not what I meant at all**_ _ **.**_ _ **When it comes to two adults being in love they could be younger or older than one another**_ _ **.**_

 _ **Again, that**_ _ **'**_ _ **s just how strange my mind is**_ _ **.**_ _ **I never know how things are going to work out until I write them**_ _ **.**_ _ **I**_ _ **'**_ _ **m also happy to announce that I am working on a crossover story as well**_ _ **.**_ _ **Make sure you check that out**_ _ **.**_

 _ **Without further rambling from me let**_ _ **'**_ _ **s continue with the story**_ _ **.**_

Chapter Five:

James checked his mom over. Her heart rate was a little hard but she was relieved he had come to her aide. "is she okay?" asked Hoshi frantically over the phone. "yeah she's fine. Just a little shaken up. Elvis managed to pull her out of the bus in time." He heard Hoshi sigh. "that's good. Thanks for the update. Keep an eye on her for me okay?" James smiled. "I will." He then hung up the phone. He turned back to his mom. "that was Hoshi. I just told him what happened. He'so glad you're doing okay." James put his phone back on his belt. "is the bus safe to use Trevor?" Trevor shook his head. "no. You'd better phone for help James." Elvis pulled out his radio. "I'll do that." James then gasped. "I forgot to tell Sam that Penny was going to be out for the next few days!" Elvis' radio crackled. "she went ahead and called me anyway, James. I'm sending Arnold with Jupiter to your location shortly." Came Sam's voice over the radio. "alright. Thanks Sam." Elvis put his radio back on his chest. Arnold arrived with Jupiter. James helped his mom and Dilys climb into Jupiter. "we could give you a tow to Joe's garage, Trevor." Trevor shrugged. "if you want." Elvis hooked Phoenix's tow cable up to the front axle of the bus. They towed Trevor to Joe's garage. "Hey Elvis I can drop my mom and Dilys off." Offered James. Elvis nodded. He gave James the keys to Jupiter. "take care. She's a little hard to handle."

James dropped Dilys off in front of her shop. He then went to drop his mom off. They spotted Hoshi's jeep parked outside of the café. His brother was standing by the door with a worried look on his face. He hugged Bronwyn once she got out of Jupiter. "I'm so glad you're okay." He whispered. He laid his head on her shoulder. Bronwyn smiled. She hugged Hoshi just as tight. The two pulled away after a while. "did you come all the way from work?" asked James. Hoshi nodded. "yeah. I came by to check on her. I'm about ready to head back seeing as my break time is over." Bronwyn gasped. "Did you even eat before you came here?" he shook his head. "I didn't really have time." She motioned for him to follow her. Bronwyn quickly made something for him to eat. She put it into a bag for him. "I'm not going to let my children starve." She pecked him on the cheek gently. Hoshi laughed softly. "I'll be home a little late tonight mom. They've got me working as a closure." She hugged him again. "I wished you didn't have to work so hard." He waved her off. "it's nothing to worry about. I don't mind the extra work. Besides it's what's keeping the lights on so I'm not complaining." He walked out of the café. James watched him get back into his jeep. "I'd better head back to the station." Muttered James. "I'll be home later this afternoon."

James came home later that afternoon. His body was weighed down by exhaustion. Dinner went on like usual apart from Hoshi not being there. James was woken up dead in the night by the front door opening. He heard someone moving around downstairs. James carefully made his way downstairs. Hoshi was fumbling around in the kitchen for something to eat. He flicked on the light causing his brother to jump out of his skin. "Son of a- "he put a hand on his chest. "James, don't fucking do that." He snapped. "Sorry. I thought someone was breaking in." Hoshi tossed his house key on the counter. "unless suddenly someone else had the house key." Hoshi sighed. He turned his attention back to the fridge. He grabbed his dinner off the shelf. "you can go back to bed. I'm going to eat, rest up, then head on out to the ORC." James went back to his room. Hoshi turned out the light once he had finished having dinner. He decided to sleep on the couch again.

About a month passes…

Hoshi was on his laptop checking to see which bills needed to be taken care of that month. He sighed. "rent is due, power is due, water is due." He leaned back on the couch. "my paycheck from Newtown is going towards the rent, I guess my other one needs to go to the bills." He closed his laptop. "that means I won't be able to buy food this week." He laid his head on the pillow. He kept from yawning again. James knocked on the door. "hey Hoshi. I've got today off. I was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together." Hoshi shook his head. "nah I have work today sadly. Don't worry there's always next time." He hugged his brother before going off into his room to get changed. James stood there a little broken. He loved his brother more than anything. He rarely got to be with Hoshi apart from when Hoshi had taken days off to rest. Hoshi reappeared again in his server's uniform. "I'm off to Newtown." James nodded. "please be careful." Hoshi ruffled James' hair. "always am."

James headed over to Penny's house. He knocked on the door gently. He got no response. "she's probably at the station." He was about to leave when the door opened. Penny poked her head out. "I thought you were at work." Penny looked at the clock. "I have the night shift tonight. Sorry I didn't respond earlier. I was upstairs sleeping still." James shifted back and forth nervously. "did you want to do something?" he asked. Penny shrugged. "I don't see why not. Come in and give me a few moments to get ready." James walked into her house. He sat down on the couch. Penny quickly got changed into her civical clothes. "alright I'm ready." Penny walked alongside him. "so what do you want to do?" she asked. He shrugged. "it's up to you." She thought for a moment. "how about we find a nice quiet spot in the countryside?" she suggested. He nodded.

Penny and James found a spot underneath a tree on a hill. Penny leaned back against the tree. James laid back in the grass. It felt cool and wet underneath him. He put his arms behind his head. Penny stayed quiet for a while. "time is so short isn't it?" she asked. "almost like it goes the instant it's here." James looked up at her. "we are born one minute and then dead the next." She let go of some of the grass in her hand. James rolled over onto his side to face her. Her hand laid open palm first next to her. "what brought this on?" Penny didn't really say anything. The both of them sat in silence. "nothing it's just a thought." She got up. "we better head back."

Penny and James headed back to Penny's house. His mom was waiting for them outside of Penny's house. "James, we need to go to the hospital now." His mother sounded frantic. "your brother has just been checked in."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Hoshi had been hooked up to IVs and various machines. His skin was almost completely pale. James watched his brother from a window outside of his room. "what happened to him?" he asked looking at his mom. "he collapsed at work. Ben found him unresponsive in the break room." James looked back at his brother. "they won't let us into the room until he's woken up." Bronwyn brought her hands up to her chest. "my poor baby." She sniffed. "did they say the cause?" Bronwyn wiped a tear away from her eye. "he had overworked himself. He wasn't't taking care of himself enough." James sighed. Penny put a hand on Bronwyn's shoulder. "me and James can watch him for you if you want to go home." She suggested. Bronwyn hesitated. She did't want to leave Hoshi. "he'll be in good hands." Comforted Penny. "we'll let you know if anything changes." Bronwyn looked at Hoshi again before walking away from them. Penny put her arm around James gently. James stayed quiet for a long time. A nurse walked up to them. "excuse me, are you guys related to Mr. Gekko?" Penny pointed to James. "he's his brother and I'm one of their family friends." The nurse nodded. "I was told to inform you that visiting hours have sadly end. However, we do have a room available if you guys still wanted to stay with him overnight." James nodded. "if we could please." The nurse lead them to a separate hallway. She showed them a room that had a queen-sized bed in the middle of the room, a couple of armchairs off to the side in front of a window, and a Tv that sat on a dresser. The nurse motioned to the dresser. "in the bottom drawers, there's some sheets and some blankets. In one of the middle drawers, there are some pillows." The nurse then let them be. "you take the bed, Penny." Said James. Penny looked at him. "you sure?" he nodded. "yeah, I'll be okay sleeping in a chair. Before long the both of them settled down for the night. James leaned back in the chair. It wasn't very comfortable but it would do for now. He soon drifted off to sleep.

The alarm went off at five am that morning. James got up from the chair. He turned the alarm off. He heard Penny stir from her sleep. "go back to sleep Penny." He whispered. She yawned at him before drifting off again. James decided to check on his brother. Hoshi hadn't changed much since being admitted. He was still unconscious. James put his hand on the window. He felt bad for his brother. "dad, please watch over Hoshi. He took over once you passed away. It's not fair for him to be this sick." He stood there for a while. A doctor walked in to take Hoshi's vitals. He saw the concerned look on the doctor's face as he scribbled down something on Hoshi's chart. The alarm on Hoshi's heart monitor sounded. Hoshi's heart rate had picked up. Hoshi's eyes fluttered open. He had some trouble trying to breathe. He put a hand over his throat. James watched the nurses quickly rush in. They put an oxygen mask over Hoshi's mouth gently. The doctor managed to hold Hoshi down while the head nurse injected Hoshi with a medication to calm down. Hoshi took in ragged breaths. He saw his brother. He gave his brother a desperate look of "Help me" James darted into the room. "Hoshi it's okay." He took his brother's hand. "you're going to be okay." Hoshi finally calmed. "you wanna tell me how the fuck I ended up here?" James laughed softly under his breath. "you collapsed at work. Ben called the hospital and had them bring you here." Hoshi let out a groan. "great another expense that I'll have to worry about." Hoshi pulled out of James' grasp. He pulled the blanket up past his shoulders.

James stayed with his brother for a few hours. "so when are you and Penny going to hook up?" teased Hoshi. James blushed madly. "you can't hide the fact that you have a gigantic crush on her from me. You've been fawning over her for weeks." James looked down. "I don't know. I am kind of young." Hoshi rolled his eyes. "dude, your thirty. You can do whatever the hell you want to. If you want to date a girl who's older then you, you can. There's no law that says you can't." James shifted uncomfortably. Hoshi yawned. "now if you don't mind your big brother has to get some rest." He closed his eyes drifting off. James left his brother to rest in peace. Penny was down in the cafeteria. She had her phone in her hand. She heard James walk in. "so, how is he?" she asked. James smiled. "he just woke up, after having had a huge panic attack, but other than that he's doing okay." She sighed in relief. "did you already eat?" she motioned to the empty foam plate. "you tell me." He sat down next to her. "you may want to get something. We'll need to head off to work once you do."

James and Penny arrived at the station. Sam closed one of Jupiter's lockers. "good morning you two." Penny smiled. "morning Sam." Sam looked at his clipboard. "James, you have your first night shift with Elvis and Arnold." James dipped his head at his Uncle. "I'll have to leave early though. My brother is in the hospital." Sam lowered the clipboard. "Bronwyn came by to tell me that earlier this morning. I'm sorry he's in the hospital. I hope he does get better." Sam coughed in his hand. "right well you guys still have jobs to do." Penny tended to Venus. James tapped her shoulder. "Oh Penny, I have something that I want to ask you." She raised an eyebrow at him gesturing for him to continue. "I was wondering if you would like to go out one evening. Just you and me." Penny sensed how uncomfortable James was about asking her this. His body language spoke a lot about it. She smiled slightly. "I don't see why not. It's been awhile since I've had a nice evening. Pick me up on Saturday at 7." James leaned back against Jupiter. His heart was racing.

James went to see his mom when he had his break. "I'm glad he's finally woken up. I was about ready to go and see him anyway." She commented as she was getting her bag together. "oh, and Mom, I have a date with Penny on Saturday." Added James. She grinned at him. "that's good. Penny is a nice lady. I'm sure she'll be happy with you taking her out for the evening." James let out a mental sigh of relief. His mother was usually tolerate of a lot of things. "did you want me to fix you some lunch?" she asked. James snapped out of his thoughts. "sure, if you want. I have some time before I head back to the station anyway. Oh, and that reminds me, I won't be home tonight. I've got my first night shift with Elvis and Arnold." Bronwyn chuckled. "oh boy, those two are always a riot when their together. I hope tonight is a quiet night for you. PontyPandy seems to be watching itself a lot lately." James ate lunch before leaving his mom's café. He tucked his hands into his pockets. The weather was reasonably fair. He went down to the beach. He spotted a blonde-haired man sitting on one of the rocks. "Winter?" Winter jumped hearing his name being called. "I wasn't aware that you were in town." Winter crowed. "I wanted me arriving back from my travels to be a surprise. You are about the first person to see me." James scratched behind his head. "Word on the street tells me you're a fireman now." Commented Winter as James put the kettle on for them. James nods. "yep. I have been for a month now. I really like my job." Winter chuckled. "just like your Uncle. I can see your wanting to be just like him." James put Winter's cup down in front of him. Winter took a sip of his tea. "it's always nice to have more heroes around here." Winter and James talked for about an hour. "I've got to get back. It was nice talking to you Winter." Winter nods. "always good to share a conversation with a friend."

James made sure his mother's café was locked up while she was gone. He strolled into the fire station. The roof above him was vibrating from Elvis' radio. Arnold's voice piped up in protest. He heard Elvis lower the volume of his music. James just shook his head. He helped Penny finish cleaning Venus.

 _ **I really hope you guys have been enjoying this story so far. I know there isn't much of a plot but I figured it was a nice break from what I normally write. I do appreciate feedback but please do not PM me about character motives. As a writer I can't give away the aces I have hidden in my sleeves. Plus it spoils the surprise. If you wish to ask a question you may but please do not proceed to spam my pm with five subjects in one sitting. It's rather unnerving and unorganized.**_

 _ **Read and Review for more.**_

 _ **Adieu**_

 _ **Melonsworth**_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

Saturday evening came quicker than James expected. He fastened a tie around his neck. He had on his father's suit. "it's nearly time." He whispered. He checked himself one last time. "I hope I don't look too bad." Bronwyn checked in on her son. "you look handsome James." She tucked a handkerchief into his front pocket. He let out a nervous sigh. "I hope things go well." James went downstairs. He grabbed his house keys from the counter. "wish me luck." He walked out of the café. Penny had gotten ready for the evening. She heard a knock at her front door. "the doors' unlocked!" she called. James walked in. "hey you ready to go?" she nodded. She put on her jacket. He took her arm. "so what's the plan?" she asked. "I didn't really think this far." She tapped his hand gently. "how about we head to Newtown? There's plenty of nice places there." She suggested.

James and Penny arrived in Newtown. The street lamps illuminated the walkways nicely. It gave them a relaxed kind of atmosphere. "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra played quietly through the loud speakers. The fountains glistened in the moonlight. Penny pulled her coat around her shoulders. "it's rather nice tonight." James nodded. He squeezed her hand gently. "there's a restaurant just up the road. Did you want to head there or do some window shopping?" Penny thought for a moment. "how about we eat first?" James dipped his head at her. He kept hold of her hand to ensure she wasn't going to get tangled up in the crowd. They waited for the crosswalk light to change before crossing. La Casita is a small Italian restaurant. "a table for two please." Said James. The host looked up at him. "there's going to be about a five to ten-minute wait. We're waiting for a busser to come clean a table off for you guys." She pulled up the restaurant layout on the POS in front of her. "in the meantime, can I get a name please?" she asked. "James Jones." She reached under the host stand and pulled out a small pager. She inputted the number in the system before handing it to him. James and Penny sat down on the bench in the lounge.

The song on the radio in the restaurant changed to "Something Stupid" by Michael Buble' and Reese Wetherspoon. "I love this music." She whispered. James looked at her. "it's just so calming." She closed her eyes leaning against him. James shivering as his skin contacted her body heat through his suit. He noticed that the entire time that they had been together she never let go of his hand once. He blushed madly. He tried his best not to let it show. Their peace was interrupted by the pager in his hand. The circle of lights flashed to indicate that their table was ready. He handed the pager back to the host. She grabbed two menus from the holders on one side of the host stand. She lead them to their table which sat closest to a window. "your server will be with you shortly." She bowed before leaving them be. James pulled out the chair for Penny. She graciously accepted his offer. He then sat down in his chair. Penny began going over the menu. "so many choices." She mused. "I know. It's going to be heard to chose." He sighed. Their server soon appeared. He was a Hispanic male with dark black hair. He smiled warmly at them. "good evening my name is Nick and I'll be your server for the night. Can I start you guys off with a drink or appetitzer." James motioned for Penny to order first. "I'll have tea." Nick wrote hers down. "and what about you sir?" he asked glancing at James. "I'll just have a water." Nick dipped his head. "I'll return shortly with your drinks." Nick put his book back on his belt.

James glanced over the menu again. He pretty much knew what he wanted. He didn't really have much of a taste in Italian food seeing as most of what his mom made was Welsh. Penny put her menu down. "I think I've decided." She settled back in her chair. Her brown eyes locked contact with his. They had a warm look in them. James could tell she was enjoying herself at the moment. James snapped out of his thoughts. Penny observed the rest of their surroundings. "I haven't really been out to a nice place in a long time. Work kind of prevents me from being spoiled from time to time." James adjusted the collar of his shirt. "I'm glad your enjoying yourself so far Penny. I want things to run smoothly for you." He knew he was staring at her again. He was so beyond nervous he didn't know what to do with himself. He loved her and just wanted to make whatever time she had left count. Nick returned with their drinks. "have you guys made your decision yet?" he questioned. James nodded. He waited for Penny to order first. "let's see I'll have Parmesan Crusted Tilapia." Nick nodded and wrote it down. He looked at James. James looked down at the menu again. "Steak Gorgonzola-Alfredo." Nick wrote James' down. He took both of their menus. "okay I'll have that right out. In the meantime, let me get you guys some salad and breadsticks." Nick smiled warmly at them again before heading off into the kitchen.

Penny looked out the window. People walked back and forth in front of the window. "Penny I have a very important question to ask you." James shifted in his chair. "would you ever consider dating someone who was a few years younger than you?" Penny inhaled sharply. "depends on how much of an age difference there is between me and the other person. I wouldn't date a guy much younger than 29 or maybe thirty. I don't have that much of an interest in people way, way young." James digested what she had just said. He knew his chances with her are probably shot. "however I do have a few exceptions to this rule. If they are nice, caring, and take great care of me then who am I to judge how old they are?" She turned her attention back to him. "why do you ask?" James chuckled nervously. "I'm in love with you." She raised an eyebrow lightly at him. A deep hum of amusement welled up in her chest. "now why doesn't that surprise me?" she shook her head. "I had a feeling you did. You're a nice young man James. I would be honored to be your girlfriend." James beamed even brighter. He had a lot of his Uncle's spirit in him. Penny saw his eyes light up.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The rest of the evening went by swimmingly. Penny and James were walking down the strip. They would peer into each one of the shops on their walk. Penny leaned against James' shoulder. "I had fun tonight James." He smiled. Penny's fingers interlaced with his. The two of them went home that evening. James was in high spirits. He noticed that the lights in the café were off. He opened the door flicking them back on again. "Hello?" he called. He got no reply. This unsettled him quite a bit. Usually, his mother was the only one up waiting for them. He made his way upstairs to hopefully find somebody home. He heard the TV upstairs making noise. He could make out a pale outline of someone sitting on the couch. The light from the TV illuminated one side of their face. "Winter?" Winter looked at him. "Oh hello. Your mom told me to housesit for her." James turned on the Living Room light. "why? What's going on?" Winter turned the TV off. "she said she's gone off to see your brother." He yawned softly. "I'm going to sleep. Night." James nodded. "night." James went off to his room to sleep.

The next morning came. James' alarm went off at 9:00 like usual. He slid the lock across the screen. He let out a soft groan of annoyance. He was tired from his date last night. James got changed into his work uniform. Bronwyn didn't come home at all that night. This worried James a little bit. He decided to call his mom to see if she was okay.

 **Bronwyn** **:** **hello?**

 **James** **:** **hey mom**

 **Bronwyn** **:** **good morning James** **.** **I stayed with your brother overnight** **.** **Sorry if I worried you this morning** **.**

 **James** **:** **it** **'** **s okay** **.** **I know Hoshi has been rather ill lately** **.** **Speaking of Hoshi, how is he?**

 **Bronwyn** **:** **he** **'** **s responding to the treatment slowly** **.** **The doctors are fearing his condition is worse than they realized** **.** **They don** **'** **t know when he** **'** **s going to come home** **.**

 **James** **:** **I feel bad for him** **.** **He works so hard to provide for us** **.** **He** **'** **s like dad in that respect** **.**

 **Bronwyn** **:** **I know dear** **.** **I know** **.** **I** **'** **ll keep you updated with how Hoshi is feeling** **.** **How was your date last night with Penny?**

 **James** **:** **it went well** **.** **We had a fun time**

 **Bronwyn** **:** **that** **'** **s good** **.** **I can** **'** **t wait to hear all about it when I get home** **.** **Have a good day at work James** **.**

 **James** **:** **I will** **.** **Thanks mum** **.**

James stuck his phone back in his pocket. He headed down to the station. Chief Fire Officer Steele was standing at the garage door with James' Uncle Sam. "I'll make sure I notify the team about the search and rescue drill this afternoon sir." Steele nodded. He saw James walk up to them. "good morning Firefighter James. I trust you slept well?" James cracked a smile at him. "of course, sir." He saluted Chief Fire Officer Steele. "how is your brother?" questioned Steele. "he's responding to the treatment slowly. My mom is with him currently." Steele nodded. "right well I will be seeing you gentlemen this afternoon. I want to be able to evaluate you for myself." James waved at him. "bye sir." Steele nodded as he walked away. Sam sighed. "would you like a cup of tea James?" offered Sam. "Sure." He followed his Uncle upstairs into the lounge. "remind me to give Ben a call later." He told his Uncle who gave a nod of his head. Sam put the kettle on while James went to sit at the table. "will Penny be on duty today?" asked James. "yep. I'll give her a call right now actually. She'll need to be here for the drill." Sam poured James a cup of tea. He handed it to him. James took a small sip of it. "how have you been holding up since your brothers' been in the hospital?" James looked down sadly. "I just feel really bad for him. He always works hard to provide for us. I just wished there was something that I could do for him." Sam smiled. He put a hand on James' shoulder. "I think the greatest joy he has is just being able to take care of you guys. He is a lot like your dad in some ways. He grew close to your father after he was rescued." James nodded. "I remembered how depressed he was when he passed away. He wouldn't move from dad's spot on the bed." Sam sat down next to his nephew. "I'll keep him in my prayers' James. But in turn he needs you to be strong for him now." James looked up at his Uncle. "I'll try to Uncle Sam."

James was downstairs polishing Jupiter. This gave him a chance to be alone in his head for a while. He often wondered what life would have been like if his dad were still there. He put the sponge back into the bucket. He looked at his reflection. He soon snapped out of his daze and got back to work. The afternoon hours came quicker than anyone intended. Fire Chief Officer Steele came back to oversee the drill. "Team One will be James, Elvis, and Arnold. Team Two will be Penny, Ellie, as well as Tom Thomas in Wallaby Two. Your goal is try and find Ben who has hidden himself somewhere on PontyPandy Island. Keep in mind that Fire Chief Officer Steel and I will be evaluating you. I want to hear effective communication being used. I also want you guys focused." Said Sam sternly. "stay safe and once you find him, return to the station for a debrief." James followed in behind his teammates as they went down the poles. Elvis ran over to Jupiter getting into it. James climbed in followed by Arnold. James flicked on the siren. Elvis pulled away from the station. Penny and Ellie followed in Venus. The girls took a different path that lead up to the Mountain Rescue Center. Tom ran out to Wallaby Two. He waited for the girls to hop in. He began starting the engines up. Penny climbed into Wallaby Two first. She helped Ellie before closing the cargo hold doors. Penny buckled herself in. "Team Two is ready to go, Sam." Came Penny's voice over the radio. Sam looked up at the screen. "Team One are you guys in position?" he questioned. Elvis finally arrived at the ORC. They all got into Neptune. Elvis launched Neptune into the waters below. "Team One is ready Sam." Sam let out a sigh of relief. "good. Ben, are you in position?" Ben got on the radio. "I'm ready, Sam." Sam put the timer up on the screen. "commencing drill…now."

Elvis turned on Neptune's sonar. "let's try checking the rocks around PontyPandy Island." Murmured Arnold. Elvis gunned the engine. James grabbed the pair of Infrared Binoculars that were sitting next to Elvis' leg. He used them to try and see Ben. Elvis used the sonar to navigate Neptune around the rocks. James zoomed in on the rocks. "nothing over here." Tom checked another part of the Island. "nothing is coming up on the radar." Elvis let out a sigh of frustration. "Do you want me and Arnold to check the island on foot, Elvis?" questioned James. "if you could. I'll keep searching around the shore for him. Be careful you two." James nodded. Elvis pulled into the lagoon. The both of them got out of Neptune. James grabbed his flashlight off his belt. He flicked it on. Arnold did the same. They decided to check the woods around the island before heading up into the mountain. "Ben?!" Called James. Arnold put his hand on James' shoulder. "it wouldn't do us any good to call for him. Ben may not be able to communicate out to us." James nodded. He shined his light into the trees. "how about this: you take the path that branches off to the right and I take the path that branches off to the left? We can cover more ground that way." James looked up at him. "are you sure Arnold?" Arnold smiled. "positive. I'll give you a call if something goes wrong." James dipped his head. "alright." James split off from Arnold. He darted off down the path. He kept checking the corners around him for any sign of Ben.

Tom checked his radar again. He got a dark red spot on his radar. "I've spotted him, Sam. He's up on one of the ledges on the mountain." James paused right where he was. "good job, Team Two. You know what to do next." Penny opened the cargo hold doors. She attached the double harness to the crane hook. Tom moved closer to the ledge. Ellie carefully attached the hook to her harness. She sat close to the edge of the helicopter. Penny gave her a thumbs' up and lowered her down close to where Ben was. Ben slid into the second harness. He waved at Tom to tell him to take him up. Penny winched them both back up. "good job you two." said Ben as he sat down next to Ellie. James and Arnold returned to Elvis.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Fire Chief Officer Steele was waiting at the station for them to arrive. He had the results of their evaluation in his hand. "Team One you were able to work together in the beginning of the exam but it was not a wise decision for you to split off. In the future, I expect you guys to stay close to one another." He looked at the girls next. "Team Two did extremely well during the exam. Though I think one thing we all have to work on in this group is communication. There really wasn't much chatter on the radio tonight." Sam nodded. "I'll be sure to do more drills with them in the future." Steele bid the entire team farewell before leaving the office. Sam sighed softly. "Elvis and Ellie, you have night shift with me tonight. Arnold, Penny, and James good night." James walked out of the fire station. Penny caught up with him. "I didn't think you guys did too badly." James looked down at his feet. "I have a feeling we disappointed Sam a bit." Penny put her hand on his shoulder. "don't worry about the exam too much James. I have to ask, how is your brother?" James scratched behind his head. "he's responding slowly to the treatment. My mom is with him right now." She nodded. "do you want me to go home with you tonight?" James blushed. "if ya want." She smiled kindly. She took his hand in hers. Winter was cooking in the kitchen. He had his back to them as they entered. "hey Winter, is mom home?" he asked. Winter shook his head. "no. I'm starting to worry." He turned around to face them. James frowned. "I'll give her a call real quick."

Bronwyn was sleeping in a chair next to Hoshi's bed. Hoshi woke up hearing his mother's phone going off. "mom." He murmured. He pushed her hand off his bed making her wake up. She quickly picked up her phone.

 **Bronwyn** **:** **hello?**

 **James** **:** **hey mom** **.** **Are you with Hoshi still?**

 **Bronwyn** **:** **yes** **.** **I kind of fell asleep next to him** **.** **Is something the matter dear?**

 **James** **:** **no** **.** **Nothing is wrong** **.** **I just wanted to check on you** **.** **Did you want me to bring dinner to you?**

 **Bronwyn** **:** **if you want to James** **.** **I wouldn** **'** **t mind hearing about your day when you do so** **.**

 **James** **:** **alright** **.** **I** **'** **ll have Winter cook something up then**

 **Bronwyn** **:** **okay honey** **.** **I** **'** **ll see you soon** **.**

He smiled as he hung up. "hey Winter, can you put dinner into some Tupperware dishes please? I'm going to take it up to the hospital." Winter nodded. "but of course." James turned to Penny. "would you like to come with me?" He asked. She nodded. "sure." Winter finished cooking them dinner. "me and Sarah can fend for ourselves. Have fun." James put the Tupperware dishes into his bag carefully. He grabbed the keys to his brother's jeep. Penny climbed into the jeep on the passenger side. James tucked their dinner into a compartment in the back. He then climbed in on the drivers' side. He started the jeep up.

Hoshi heard his brother walk into his room. "hey James." He greeted. "hello Hoshi. How are you feeling?" Hoshi flexed. "I'm feeling a tad bit better. I just hope the doctor lets me out of this prison soon. I can't bare to be away from work." James shook his head at him. "Hoshi, you need to be taking care of yourself more. If you keep going the route your going now, you'll end up doing more damage to yourself." Hoshi looked down shamefully. "I appreciate you guys being worried about me. I really do. I promise I'll take better care of myself." He glanced back up at his brother. "I heard mom say that you brought food with you. I hope Winter fixed us something good. I can't stand the taste of hospital food." James looked inside of the bag he had. "yep he did." Hoshi put a hand on his stomach. "maybe the nurse will let me eat the cafeteria with you guys." James shrugged at him. "it wouldn't hurt to ask." Hoshi pressed the call light on his remote. Hoshi's nurse walked into the room. "do you need something, Mr. Gekko?" she asked kindly. "I was wondering if you would be cool with me sitting with my family in the cafeteria. I haven't had a chance to have a family meal with them in a while." She nodded. "you aren't hooked up to anything anymore so you are free to walk around the hospital." Hoshi smiled. "thanks." Hoshi got out of the bed with his mother's help. He went with his family to the cafeteria. He was happy to be hanging out with them again even if the current situation was him being in the hospital.

Hoshi clasped his brother's shoulder. "So tell me the story of how you and Penny became a thing." Penny blushed looking away. James shifted uncomfortably. Hoshi let go of his brother. "I'm sorry I'm putting you on the spot aren't I? My bad." He smiled mischievously. "I just asked her out on a date." Replied James shyly. "actually no, our relationship started when I was in the hospital being treated for shock." Countered Penny. Hoshi nodded. He leaned in closer. "have you two ya know? Done the "dance" yet?" His questioned earned him a slap across the back of the neck from Bronwyn. Penny laughed uncomfortably and took a sip of her tea. James coughed into his hand. "Hoshi, we don't ask those kinds of questions in this family." Scolded Bronwyn. Hoshi laughed. "I was only curious." He took a bite of his fish. "not like I care if they've done it or not." He added. Penny shook her head. "no, we haven't gotten that far yet." She looked at James. "we've decided not to cross that line just yet." James smiled at her. Hoshi took another bite. "bummer. I was hoping for more action than that." He ducked as Bronwyn took another swing at him. James felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He looked down to see a text message from Sarah.

 **Sarah: hey I heard your having dinner with Mom and Hoshi. Sorry I didn't get home fast enough**

 **James: it's fine. I know your busy. Hey if you have a bit of time why don't you come down?**

 **Sarah: alright. I'll be down there soon.**

Hoshi muttered something in Russian. "I heard that Hoshi!" snapped Bronwyn. Hoshi stuck his tongue out at her replying with: "oy? Oy? Oy? V samom dele? Na samon dele seychas?" She flicked him behind his ear gently. James chuckled. "I'm glad nothing has changed in this household." Bronwyn eyed Hoshi sternly. Sarah soon showed up. "hey sorry I'm late." She sat down next to her brother, James. "nah your fine. Besides you just missed mom and Hoshi having a cussing match in Russian." Hoshi giggled and winked at their mother. Bronwyn just shook her head.

James was happy that his family was all together again. He was glad to see that Hoshi's wicked sense of humor had not changed. His sister talked about her travels and the latest story she was covering. "it turns out that American politics are rather interesting. Especially now since they have a rich person as their president." James rolled his eyes. "we all knew that was going to happen." Sarah took a sip of her tea. "I've been very busy running news stories." Bronwyn tapped Sarah's hand. "just be careful dear. You know how rough a career like journalism is." Sarah nodded. " I know, mum. I'll be careful I promise." Sarah looked at her brother. "and I see someone has been busy." She smirked. James blushed a bright red. "pretty soon they'll have their first child." Added Sarah with a giggle. Penny moved a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't think so, Sarah. Not at my age." Sarah laughed. "I know. I was only teasing." She smiled seeing how uncomfortable her brother was. "oh look my little brother is all embarrassed." James coughed. "Cut it out, Sarah." Bronwyn sighed. "that's enough. You and Hoshi, honestly." Yep, nothing in this family had really changed. Not one bit.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Ellie had received word from the museum that the professor had approved of her idea. He stated that he would need to talk to the City of Cardiff about closing off their historical district for the event." James smiled. "that's good. I'm glad things are finally working out for you." Ellie sat down by James. "I can't wait to get everything started." She chided. "I really would like for this to work out." James put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure it will." Arnold looked up from his laptop. "the Professor picked a good place to do the fundraiser. Cardiff is full of history." The alarm sounded. "Fire at Joe Sparkes' garage." Came Sam's voice over the PDA. Elvis quickly ran out from behind the counter. "Ellie and Arnold your with me!" Ellie nodded. "I'll be right back James!" she called over her shoulder. James sighed leaning back on the couch. Penny scooted closer to him. "this is a first." James gave a nod of his head. "I had a nice time hanging out with your family." Whispered Penny. "it's been a while since I've hung out family." James smiled. "I'm glad. I hope my brother gets well soon. It would be nice to see him back home." Penny nodded. She heard James' phone buzz quietly in his pocket. James answered his phone.

 **James: hello?**

 **Bronwyn: hey James. I was just calling to let you know that your brother has been discharged from the hospital. The doctor has determined that he is strong enough to come home.**

 **James: yew. That's good.**

 **Bronwyn: though I'll be worried about him being antsy. The doctor doesn't want him to go back to work just yet.**

 **James: you may want to talk to Ben about letting him do some light work.**

 **Bronwyn: good idea James. Did Penny enjoy herself last night?**

 **James: yep. She enjoyed herself.**

 **Bronwyn: I'm glad. Well I'll let you get back to work love. Don't work too hard okay?**

 **James: (laughs) I won't. Bye mom.**

 **Bronwyn: love you sweetie. See you when get home.**

James smiled. "that was my mom. She says Hoshi is strong enough to come home." Penny hugged him. "that's great." James and Penny sat there looking at each other. There was an air of silence between them. James suddenly started to lean in closer to her. Penny knew immediately what James was going to do. She started to lean in closer to him. They began kissing on the couch. James leaned back allowing her to have more access to him. Penny held James close to her as they made out on the couch. They pulled away when they heard Sam cough at them. "I don't think that's very dignified behavior." Said Sam sternly. He had a light tone of amusement in his voice. "sorry Station Officer Sam." Apologized Penny. They couldn't look Sam in the eye. "if you guys are done having your little Public Display of Affection, there's some chores around the fire station you both could be doing."

The rest of the day was fine apart from one final rescue. "Mandy is stuck up on PontyPandy Mountain and the cliff she's standing on is threatening to let go at any moment." James quickly dropped the sponge he was holding. He ran over to Mercury climbing onto it. Penny climbed up into Venus with Ellie. They followed in behind James as he took off from the station. He made a run by the Mountain Rescue Center. He quickly got changed into his Mountain Rescue Uniform. "Tom, we need your helicopter. Mandy is stuck up on a crumbling cliff on PontyPandy Mountain." Urged Penny. Tom nodded. He ran out to his helicopter starting it up. Penny then turned to James. "James, I want you to go with Tom in his helicopter. Ellie and I will follow you two in Venus." James nodded. He clipped on his helmet. He raced out to Tom's helicopter. He climbed up into it. "welcome aboard mate." Came Tom's voice over the radio. "let's get moving Tom." Tom flew the helicopter away from the Mountain Rescue Center. He turned on the search light to help them see. James sat close to the edge of the helicopter. He couldn't make himself look down but he knew he had to for Mandy's sake. James suddenly realized something. He got on the radio. "Penny, you'll need to take Bessie. Venus wouldn't be able to make it up the mountain trail." He heard his radio crackle. "rodger that James." James looked down at the mountain path again. "finding anything on your radar yet, Tom?" he asked. He slightly raised his voice over the sound of the helicopter engine. "not yet. Don't worry though. We'll find her." Tom got close to the mountain. He detected a small heat signature off to the right of the mountain. "I've found her. She's on the West Cliffs." James quickly slid into the harness. He let out a nervous sigh. "get me as close as you can." Tom nodded. He lowered James down next to Mandy. Mandy smiled at James. "man, am I glad to see you." James slid the other harness over her. Mandy quickly grabbed onto it. Just then the clifface above James and Mandy cracked. A part of the sharp rock gave away. Tom tried to move away from the cliff. The rock came down severing the harness that held James. James screamed as he was sent falling. His radio had been knocked off his chest so he couldn't hear his teammates. That was the last thing James remember before his world went black.

Penny heard Tom's voice suddenly start to get frantic over the radio. "Penny! Ellie! You guys need to come over to the cliffs quick! A rock came down severing the harness that was holding James up. The young boy has fallen somewhere and I can't find him. He isn't responding to his radio." Penny paled. "we're hurrying as fast as we can. I'll contact Sam and Nurse Flood." Penny's hands were literally shaking. _Oh god…what am I going to tell Bronwyn?_ She wondered. They soon arrived at the scene. Penny alerted Sam over the radio. Penny saw Tom shine a bright light over where James was last seen. "James!" shouted Penny. She hoped that the young firefighter was still conscious. "James!" Her foot made a soft crunching noise. She looked down to see James' hand held radio laying in a sad, broken state on the ground. She put a hand over her mouth. "James!" she yelled again. "James?!" shouted Ellie. She helped her friend try to find him. Tom shined the light again. He spotted something laying amongst the rocks. "I think I've spotted him." Came Tom over the radio. "check the rock pile down in the ravine." Penny raced ahead of Ellie. Her heart racing in her chest. Tears threatened to break the very fabric of calm she had left. Ellie stopped her from going the edge. She shined a flashlight below. She spotted James laying on a pile of rocks. She immediately felt sick. She didn't move from where she was freezing in fear. She knew it was against her training to do this. "Penny?" Ellie gently touched her. "Penny, this isn't a good time to go into shock. Come on." She tried to encourage her teammate to snap out of it. Sam quickly arrived at the scene with Nurse Flood. He took control of the situation. "Ellie, you get Penny back to the Mountain Activities Center. I'll take over. Ready Nurse Flood?" he asked. Helen nodded. He set up the absailing equipment. "Tom, lower the stretcher." He ordered over the radio. Helen carefully made her way down the ravine. She quickly rushed over to James. She put two fingers to his neck. "he's got a pulse, Sam but it's very weak. His wounds look nasty." Sam nodded to her. He helped her lay James down on the gurny. He slid the other harness onto him as they were airlifted upwards.

Helen went by the Mountain Activities Center to check on Penny. Penny was in the corner of the room crying. She held her head in her hands sobbing loudly. Helen knelt down next to her. "Penny." Penny looked up at her. "Sam is with him now. His wounds look really serious." Penny hugged Helen tightly. She sobbed into her friend's neck. Helen rubbed her back. "Ellie, take her home and stay with her. I'll have to break the news to Bronwyn." Ellie nodded. She helped Penny to her feet. "no. I have to be the one that does it." Sniffed Penny. Helen nodded. "alright but break it to her gently." Penny leaned against Ellie. Ellie was the one that drove the three of them down on Bessie. Penny couldn't bring herself to drive Venus so she let Ellie take control again. She leaned her head against the window. Guilt took over her whole body. She put her head against her hands praying that James would make it. Bronwyn didn't take the news too well. "my baby!" Hoshi held his crying mother. Penny kept her gaze down. "he should have stayed at the station!" Penny winced at Bronwyn's words. "I know, Bronwyn. Sam is with him now. All we can do is wait to hear word on how he's doing." Said Helen. Hoshi rubbed his mother's back rocking her back and forth. Penny quickly walked out of the café. "Penny!" shouted Ellie. She chased after her friend. Penny took off running. Ellie lost sight of her on the beach. Ellie panted slowing her pace. "Penny!" she knew she had to find Penny and fast. She didn't want her friend injuring herself.

Ellie heard sobbing coming from behind the rocks. She carefully crept around them. She spotted Penny laying on her side. She was huddled into a ball. Ellie got down on her knees next to her. She pulled Penny into a hug. "hey, his accident wasn't your fault." She whispered. She let Penny rest her head on her shoulder. "we're firefighters, Ellie. Our job is to save people." Sobbed Penny. Ellie held her tighter. "I know, Penny." She wiped away Penny's tears. "he'll be okay. He's in good hands. You know that Sam won't let anything bad happen to him." Penny dropped her gaze. Ellie smiled kindly. "the best thing we can do right now is to hope for the best. He needs you to be strong for him now." Penny sniffed softly. "Bronwyn, she needs you right now. You have to be strong for her too." Penny nodded. Ellie helped Penny to her feet. "thanks Ellie." She whispered. Ellie smiled. "any time. Now get back in there." She herded her friend back into the café.


	11. Chapter 11

**So, I feel the need to put a reminder about my review section in the story** **.** **I do have a set of rules in place for a reason** **.** **Here is the reminder about the rules concerning my review section stated in English** **/** **Swedish** **/** **Spanish** **/** **Welsh**

 **Pst Hey  
In case you don't know the rules relating to my review section here's a gentle reminder** **:** **  
1** **.)** **Please do not hound for updates** **.** **You will be kicked from my page if you do  
2** **.)** **Do not ask to have certain characters do things** **.** **It is not a part of the story** **.** **The only exception is if it's for a request  
3** **.)** **Be kind and respectful to your fellow readers  
4** **.)** **Please do not ask to have your pairing featured** **.** **The only exception is if it's for a request** **.** **  
5** **.)** **Feedback** **/** **commentary** **/** **critiques are allowed** **.** **  
The only reason why I have rules for my review section is to keep my review sections clean  
Translacion en Swedish  
PST Hej  
I fall du inte vet reglerna för är min granskning** **-** **avsnittet här en skonsam påminnelse** **:** **  
1** **.)** **vänligen inte hund för uppdateringar** **.** **Du kommer att sparkas från min sida om du gör  
2** **.)** **frågar inte ha vissa tecken göra saker** **.** **Det är inte en del av historien** **.** **Det enda undantaget är om det är för en begäran  
3** **.)** **vara snäll och visar respekt för andra läsarna  
4** **.)** **Snälla fråga inte ha din ihopkoppling presenterade** **.** **Det enda undantaget är om det är för en begäran** **.** **  
5** **.)** **feedback** **/** **kommentarer** **/** **kritik är tillåtna** **.** **  
Den enda anledningen till varför jag har regler för min recension avsnitt är att hålla min granskning avsnitt ren  
Translacion en Espanol  
PST Hola  
En caso de que usted no sabe las reglas relativas a mi sección de revisión aquí es un amable recordatorio** **:** **  
1** **.)** **por favor no sabueso para actualizaciones** **.** **Usted será expulsado desde mi página si haces  
2** **.)** **no pedir algunos personajes hacer cosas** **.** **No es una parte de la historia** **.** **La única excepción es si es para una solicitud de  
3** **.)** **ser amable y respetuoso con los demás lectores  
4** **.)** **por favor no pidas que tu pareja recomendados** **.** **La única excepción es si es para una solicitud** **.** **  
Se permiten 5** **.)** **respuesta** **/** **comentario** **/** **crítica** **.** **  
La única razón por qué tengo reglas para mi sección de revisión es de limpiar mis secciones de informe  
Translaction en Welsh  
PST Hei  
Rhag ofn nad ydych yn gwybod y rheolau sy'n ymwneud â fy adolygiad Mae'r adran yma yn eich atgoffa'n garedig** **:** **  
Wneud os gwelwch yn dda** **(** **1** **.)** **nid yn erfyn am ddiweddariadau** **.** **Bydd eich cicio o fy dudalen os ydych  
2** **.)** **Nid gofyn i rai cymeriadau a gwneud pethau** **.** **Nid yw'n rhan o'r stori** **.** **Yr unig eithriad yw os ydyw i gais  
3** **.)** **yn garedig ac yn barchus i eich darllenwyr cyd** **-** **  
** **(** **4** **.)** **os gwelwch yn dda Peidiwch â gofyn cael eich paru dan sylw** **.** **Yr unig eithriad yw os yw'n ar gyfer cais** **.** **  
Caniateir 5** **.)** **adborth** **/** **sylwadau** **/** **feirniadaeth** **.** **  
Yr unig reswm pam mae rheolau ar gyfer fy adran adolygiad yw i gadw adrannau fy adolygiad yn lân**

 **Guest to answer your question about the sign** **-** **up part of the fanfiction page** **:** **Just follow along with the prompts** **.** **You will need an email in order to create an account** **.** **I will not be able to help you with the sign** **-** **up process seeing as it** **'** **s already said in stone** **.** **It** **'** **s very simple a five** **-** **year** **-** **old can do it** **.**

Chapter Eleven

Sam waited out in the waiting room. He had spent some time in silence. He watched people come and go out of the waiting room. A deep sinking feeling sat in his stomach. He made it a point that he wasn't going to leave the hospital until he knew his nephew's condition. He didn't let the thought of his nephew dying on the job settle in his mind. _James is a young lad_ _._ _He has a long time to go before he can pass_ _._ _Please don_ _'_ _t take him from us_ _._ He begged silently in his head. He made a promise to Charlie a long time ago that he was going to look out for James. Right now, he wasn't doing a very good job. Sam leaned his head on the window behind him. He closed his eyes. He took a small nap while he waited.

" _we_ _'_ _re losing him_ _!"_

" _someone get him stabilized_ _!"_

" _Mr_ _._ _Jones please stay with us_ _!"_

James eyes fluttered open briefly. He saw the incredibly bright hospital light above him. The ceiling began moving. It took him a bit to realize he was being carted off somewhere. He turned his head to the side to see a nurse looking at him. "you're going to be okay." She comforted. "we're taking you down to the surgery wing." He didn't hear the rest of her sentence after that. The room began to fade out from existence. James really couldn't feel his body anymore. His eyes slowly began to close. The voices drained out of his head as he fell back to blackness. _James woke up in a meadow surrounded by white flowers as far as the eye could see_ _._ _He sat up slowly_ _._ _He felt someone sitting behind him_ _._ _He turned to see Penny looking up at the sky_ _._ _The wind blew through her blonde hair gently_ _._ _He cracked a grin_ _. "_ _Penny_ _!"_ _he went to hug her only to have his arms go right through her_ _._ _She disappeared into a cloud of white flower petals_ _._ _James sat there confused_ _._ _Charlie walked up to his son_ _. "_ _dad?_ _"_ _he asked_ _. "_ _I take it you aren_ _'_ _t real either huh?_ _"_ _Charlie shook his head sadly_ _. "_ _where am I?_ _"_ _Charlie put his hand on James_ _'_ _shoulder_ _. "_ _the void_ _._ _This is the between world_ _._ _Right now your walking on that thin barrier marking life and death_ _."_ _James tilted his head to the side_ _. "_ _what am I doing here?_ _"_ _Charlie sighed_ _. "_ _you fell off a cliff to your death_ _._ _Your injuries may be too great for you to handle James_ _."_ _James sadden_ _. "_ _so that_ _'_ _s it?_ _"_ _His fist clenched_ _. "_ _the next step for me is to die?_ _"_ _James kept his gaze down_ _. "_ _what about Penny? What about mom? Uncle Sam? I can_ _'_ _t leave them_ _._ _I can_ _'_ _t_ _."_ _Charlie hugged his son_ _. "_ _I_ _'_ _m not here to tell you that your as good as dead_ _._ _Where you go is up to you_ _."_ _James leaned against his father_ _'_ _s chest_ _. "_ _I want to go home_ _."_ _He whispers_ _._

About four days go by…

Penny paced the floor of the waiting room. Her anxiety settled in. She tried to keep her composure. Ellie was already out cold next to Sam. She spent a grander part of the night before keeping an steady eye on Penny. Sam opened one eye. "Penny, why don't you sit down?" he suggested calmly. Penny shook her head. "that wasn't a suggestion, Miss Morris. That was "you have to" " Penny sat down in one of the chairs obediently. Today was the day that they were going to receive word on James. Hoshi kept Bronwyn at home. Ellie's head fell past Sam's shoulder causing her to wake up. She yawned looking at Sam. "any word on him yet?" she asked tiredly. Sam shook his head. He opened his eyes again. Ellie let out a groan of annoyance. "we've been waiting for a couple of days. They must know something." Sam stood up carefully. "I'll go and ask." He walked over to the receptionist counter. "excuse me." The receptionist glanced up at him. "I was wondering if you had heard any word yet on James Jones' condition." The receptionist motioned for him to wait one second. She got on the phone with one of the doctors in the ICU. She nodded hanging up. "James is out of the surgery but he's in a medically induced coma. They've been waking him up to check up on him and to administer pain medication." Sam nodded. "what kind of injuries did he have?" The receptionist pulled up James' chart. "the bones all on his right side were cracked, he also had a cracked skull with blood on the brain, and several of his organs were damaged." Sam backed up from the counter. "poor James." He whispered. "well thanks for the help." He walked back over to the rest of his team. He stood in the center of the waiting room. "James is a medically induced coma. According to the doctor all his bones on the right side were cracked, he also had a cracked skull with bleeding on the brain, and several of his organs were damaged." Ellie put a hand over her mouth. "poor thing." She whispered. Penny dropped her gaze. Guilt shot through her.

James was woken up again. Nurse Anacker, who had cared for Hoshi, stood over James. She was checking his vitals. She noticed James had woken up. "You're not supposed to be up for another hour." She murmured. James coughed softly. He tried talking but his throat came up dry. "hang on let me get you something to drink." Nurse Anacker walked briskly out of the room. She got him a cup of water. She went back into his room handing it to him. James downed it quickly. He welcomed the coldness he felt. "the medicine they gave me wore off." Croaked James. James felt really numb. A part of him was glad he couldn't feel the amount of pain he was in right now. "My family…are they here?" he asked. Nurse Anacker looked at his chart. "I'm not sure but I can ask for you." James couldn't move his head to nod. "please." He croaked again. His voice was more of a raspy hiss. Nurse Anacker used the phone at the nurses' station. "oh, he does?" she asked. "alright send them back." The receptionist went over to the waiting room. "Nurse Anacker has given you permission to go and see him." Sam smiled. "that's excellent news." Ellie got to her feet. She stretched her legs. "about time." Penny hesitated a little. Ellie tugged on Penny's arm. "come on you."

James heard his friends and family walk in. He gave them a weak smile. "I'm glad to see your awake." Whispered Sam. James looked like he was getting ready to cry. Penny rushed over to him. She tossed her arms around him sobbing into him. "Penny?" James looked down at her. "what's wrong?" he asked. "she's been really worried about you, James." Said Ellie. "I couldn't even get her to go to sleep at times." James managed to move his good arm around Penny. He let her lay on his chest. "I'll be okay." He comforted. "I'm in good hands." Penny just tightened her hold on him. "you could have died. It would have been my fault for not watching over you." James gritted his teeth as he moved his head. "Penny, it's not your fault. I couldn't move away from the rock in time." Penny touched his cheek. James could see the guilt in her eyes. James kissed her deeply. Penny ran her fingers through his hair feeling the stitches that set on the right side of his head. She looked at him again. One of his eyes were completely glassed over. "oh James." She whispered. James kissed her cheek. "I'll be okay. I promise you." He looked over at his uncle. "Uncle Sam will be staying with me until I'm well enough to come home. You need to go home and rest okay?" Penny sniffed. He smiled kindly at her. "I want you to keep an eye on my mom as well. She'll need someone to ease her mind." Penny nodded. "I will." James kissed her again. "good." James laid his head on his pillow. "Ellie, keep an eye on Penny." Ellie nodded. "I'll take good care of her. I promise." She added with a wink.

Ellie took Penny to Bronwyn's café. Sam stayed with James to watch over him. Penny walked into the café. Winter was at the kitchen station cooking. He had his back to them. "welcome back ladies." He greeted without looking at them. "hey Winter. Is Bronwyn around?" Winter nodded. He pointed upstairs. "she hasn't left the living room at all today. Hoshi is passed out in his room." Penny walked up the stairs carefully. She spotted Bronwyn staring at the wall. She had a picture clenched tight against her chest. "Bronwyn?" whispered Penny. Bronwyn snapped out of her daze. "oh, hey Penny." Greeted Bronwyn sadly. "I have some news about James. His condition is really bad. They said that his right side is completely messed up." Bronwyn whimpered. "my poor baby." Penny hugged her gently. "Sam is with him now. He'll keep us updated on how he's doing." Bronwyn nodded. She looked down at her picture. It was of Charlie and James standing in Charlie's boat with a fish between them. "I took this picture when they went on their last fishing trip." Bronwyn showed the picture to Penny. "the last one before James went to Cardiff." Penny took the picture from Bronwyn. James still had some of his teenage charm in the photo. "I'm thankful you came into his life, Penny." Penny blushed. "I'm glad he came into mine. He reminds me a lot of Charlie. I think you and Charlie raised him well." Penny handed the photo back to Bronwyn. "we have a spare bedroom if you want to use it." Penny nodded. Ellie looked at her phone. "I'll come back tomorrow. Right now Arnold wants me at the station." Penny smiled at her. "see you later Ellie." Ellie hugged Penny gently. "see ya Penny."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Penny woke up in the middle of the night screaming. She sat up all the way in the bed. She panted holding herself. The hallway light flickered on. Hoshi was the first one up. He kicked her door in holding a bat firmly in his hands. He lowered in seeing as there was no one in her room. "for fucks sake, Penny. You scared the shit out of me." He grumbled. She looked down. "sorry. I had a nightmare." Hoshi put the bat down. "let me guess, you had a bad dream about my brother?" he asked. She nodded. He sat down on the edge of her bed. "you must have some really bad PTSD then." He sighed. "I know what that feels like." He looked down at his feet. "I remember coming home from the Marines. How scary those first few months were of coming back. Mom told me that I really wasn't myself. It's what happens when you're a marine. They reprogram you so you can fight. Anyway, I was discharged after losing a good friend of mine. He was killed by an IED that had been thrown through the windshield of our jeep. I'm not going to go into too much detail as to what happened but it was bad." He lifted up the sleeve of his shirt. He had a robotic arm. "I lost my arm in the blast. I nearly died when they found me. Mom told me that I had nightmares in the middle of the night. She could hear me screaming." Hoshi held himself. "Dad was usually the first one to wake me up. He stayed with me each night. I can't say I blame you for suffering like I did. I know grief all too well. One thing I'm thankful for is that James is still alive." Hoshi leaned back on his hands. He put his robotic hand on her knee gently. "he's going to make it, trust me." He comforted. She nodded. "thanks Hoshi." She whispers. Hoshi went to bed after an hour of staying up with her. Penny laid back down on her side drifting off again.

It had been a month since James was administered into the hospital. James still wasn't strong enough to come home. His condition switched between better and getting worse. Penny got on her messenger app to talk with him.

 **Penny: so how long before your out, James?**

 **James: don't know yet Penny. I'm still not strong enough to be able to take care of myself. They still have me on a feeding tube on account of my stomach being messed up.**

 **Penny: oh, I see.**

 **James: I want to go home, Penny. I really do. I don't want to be locked up in here anymore then I want to be. I miss my family. I miss working.**

 **Penny: I know you do. I keep thinking about you every day.**

 **James: how is everyone back home?**

 **Penny: missing you. The town has gone into a dry spell since you've been in the hospital. Arnold is getting rather antsy from the lack of rescues.**

 **James: Poor Arnold. I feel bad. Has Ellie received word from the City of Cardiff yet?**

 **Penny: Yeah, they've given their approval. Ellie has the event set for next week just in time for the Spring Festival.**

 **James: good on her. I hope the event goes well. I know Elvis is supposed to be performing for the Spring Festival as well.**

 **Penny: I almost forgot about that. Your brother, Hoshi has picked up guitar lessons from him. Your mother doesn't mind the fact that Hoshi practices but Winter has a few choice words.**

 **James: I have a feeling I already know the answer to this question but, how are you doing? You don't really talk much about how your coping with all of this.**

 **-Penny looks away from the camera—**

 **Penny: I haven't been able to sleep, James. It's been hard without you here.**

 **-Penny appears to be upset-**

 **James: Penny, you need to sleep. You will be no good to anyone if you aren't rested. People depend on you to protect them.**

 **Penny: I know, James.**

 **-he notices how thin Penny is-**

 **James: have you been eating?**

 **-Penny doesn't reply-**

 **James: Penny, tell me the truth. Have you been eating?**

 **Penny: (quietly) no.**

 **James: Penny, you need to eat. You need to start taking care of yourself.**

 **Penny: I'm scared James. I'm too scared too.**

 **James: you have nothing to be afraid of, Penny. Just please take care of yourself for me. I love you very much.**

 **Penny: I love you too**

 **James: tell you what, I'll call you every night to help you go to sleep. I know it will throw my sleeping schedule off but as long as it helps you, I don't care.**

 **Penny: thank you James.**

Penny ended her video call session with James when the doctor came in to talk to him. Penny stared at her computer screen for several minutes. She smiled silently. _Even when injured he knows how to take care of the ones he loves._ She got up from her desk. She headed out into the living room finding Sarah typing away on her own laptop. "Still following that one political news story?" questioned Penny. Sarah shook her head. "no. I'm following a few of the riot stories. It looks like I'll be called to the US again to cover them. I hope I can get back in time to cover Ellie's fundraising event." Sarah closed her laptop. She turned around to face Penny. "it sounds like you've gotten really busy." Said Penny. Sarah smiled. "that's what happens when you're a journalist. You go wherever the news takes you." She put her laptop next to her. "I heard you talking to my brother. How is he" she asked. Penny sighed. "he appears to be doing okay. He's still hooked up to a feeding tube. He really misses being at home." Sarah frowned. She felt bad for her brother.

Bronwyn walked into the living room. "hello ladies." She greeted. Sarah smiled. "hey mom." Bronwyn sat down on the couch with Penny. "Ellie is supposed to be by in just a little bit. She got held up at work." Penny smiled kindly. "that's okay. Though I don't see why considering how quiet it's been in PontyPandy." Bronwyn nodded. "you can say that again." Bronwyn turned on the TV. "Hey mom can you turn it over to the news? I need to check up on the riots that are going on." Bronwyn nodded. She changed the channel over to the news. She turned the volume up on the TV. **This is PontyPandy News at 11:30am. We bring you news from the US on the Immigration Riots. There were riots reported to have started in one Arlington School District. Three troublesome high schools each had students leave during the middle of class. The riots resulted in 500 dollars worth of property being damaged. There are no reports of people being injured. Coming up at 12 we have an address from Capitol Hill.** Bronwyn turned the TV down. "the world really is going crazy." She murmured. Hoshi knocked on the door frame. "hey I'm going to go pick up lunch from Bella's, do you ladies want anything?" he asked. Bronwyn thought for a moment. "a simple pizza would be nice Hoshi." Hoshi nodded. He wrote it down so he wouldn't forget it. He checked to make sure he had enough. "alright I'll be right back." Hoshi headed downstairs. He pulled his phone off his belt. He dialed up his Uncle Sam.

 **Sam: Station Officer Sam**

 **Hoshi: hey Uncle Sam. I'm picking up some food from Bella's. I was just calling to see if you wanted me to pick up anything for you.**

 **-Sam talks to James off speaker.-**

 **Sam: get me two calzones.**

 **Hoshi: you sure you can eat two calzones Uncle Sam?**

 **Sam: (laughs) no the other one is for your brother. They want to try and get him to eat without the feeding tube today.**

 **Hoshi: oh I see. Well I'll be in Newtown in a little while. See you soon Uncle Sam.**

 **Sam: take care Hoshi.**

Hoshi put his cell phone back on his belt. He climbed up into his jeep. He drove all the way to Newtown. He parked outside of Bella's pizzeria. The bell on top of the door rang quietly as Hoshi walked in. Enzo, Bella's British long-haired cat, woke up hearing someone walk into the café. He mewed a small greeting to Hoshi before rubbing up against his ankles. Hoshi smiled bending down. He stroked the small cat. Enzo flipped over onto his back letting Hoshi touch him. "hello Enzo. Hopefully Bella is around." Enzo chirped hearing his owner's name. Bella walked down the stairs. "ah Hoshi. Welcome to my restaurant." Greeted Bella cheerfully. Hoshi smiled. "hey Bella. I was wondering if I could pick up some food? I've got a hungry family to take care of." She nodded. "of course! Of course! Let me take your order and I'll get to work."

Hoshi sat down at one of the tables. He had Enzo laying in his lap underneath the table. Bella walked out into the parlor with three boxes in her hands. Hoshi took them from her gently. "oh, and Bella while I'm here I was wondering if I could get an application? I'll need a small job to keep up with." Bella put her hands on her hips. "now wait a minute _mio caro_ I was told by Ben not to let you work so hard." She wiggled her finger at him. Hoshi sighed. "busted by the old man." Bella eyed him. "you are very lucky to have such a respectful gentlemen looking after you." Hoshi looked down. "I'll give you the application but mark my words, Hoshizora. You will be doing light work when you're here." Hoshi nodded. "yes Signora." Bella smiled. "that's a good boy. See ya later. Send your brother my love!" Hoshi smiled. "I will." He walked out of the café.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Hoshi arrived at Newtown Hospital. He headed down the hall to his brother's room. He knocked on the hospital door quietly. "come in." called Sam. Hoshi walked into the room. He saluted his Uncle respectfully with his good arm. Sam saluted him back. "I brought you guys some food." He put the boxes down on the dresser in James' room. "I have the girls' in the jeep." Sam nodded. Hoshi looked at James. "how are you feeling, broseph?" he asked. James smiled weakly. "I could be better." Hoshi sat down in the recliner right by James' bed. "figured you want to eat some actual food. I know how it feels to eat the fake ass food that the hospital tries to pass off as edible." James just chuckled in amusement. He stayed with his brother for a while. "well I better get going. I have to feed the three girls at home plus Winter." James nodded. "I'll see you soon." Hoshi dipped his head at his brother before leaving the room. Sam readjusted in his chair. James fiddled with his blanket. "I really miss being able to save people, Uncle Sam. Do you think I'll be able to do my job again?" Sam sighed. "you'll recover James. It will take time though. You'll probably be spending some time at home though." James had a thought come through his head. "Uncle Sam, what if we convinced Doctor Don and Nurse Anacker to let me help out with the Spring Festival?" Sam smiled. "that doesn't seem like a bad idea. It'll take some convincing though."

Hoshi pulled up outside of his house. He checked the pizza to make sure that they didn't get too cold. "wow the pizza is still rather warm." He commented. He got out of his jeep. He walked into the café. "I'm home!" he shouted. Bronwyn heard her son's voice downstairs. She got up from the couch and walked down the steps. "sorry I'm late. I went to go and see James on the way home." Bronwyn smiled. "it's not a problem love. Set the pizza down on the table and I'll round up the other girls." Winter smelled food. He was already down at the bottom of the stairs. Hoshi jumped when Winter came up behind him. He put a hand over his chest turning around. "bro! If you do that shit again!" he threatened. Winter looked past him. "you can eat after the girls have eaten you dingus." Hoshi gave Winter a flick across the nose. Penny and Sarah came downstairs. "Girls you get first dibs. Dingus and I will wait." Penny nodded. She grabbed a couple of slices out of the box. Hoshi leaned back against the wall. "you'll be happy to know that they're trying to get James to eat solid food again, Penny." Penny smiled. "that's good. That means he's just one step closer to coming home." Hoshi nodded. He looked out the window. Bronwyn was the last one to get her food. Winter made a move for the pizza. He grabbed three slices out of the box. He stood behind the counter to eat. Hoshi went over to get his. He only grabbed one before walking back over to the wall. He took a bite of it. "you sure you don't want anymore, Hoshi?" asked Bronwyn. Hoshi shook his head. "I'm fine mom." He looked back out the window. He wasn't going to take anymore until his family was taken care of. Sarah placed her plate down in the sink. The rest of the afternoon was rather quiet. Sarah sat down on the couch and watched a movie with Penny. Sarah leaned back on the couch. "so if you're going to be a permanent part of this family we might as hang out more." Murmured Sarah. Penny nodded. Sarah punched her lightly in the shoulder. "that way we can get started on being sister-in laws early." She added with a wink. Penny smiled kindly. "I'm not as much of a hipster as you are." Sarah chuckled. "Don't worry the more you hang out with me, the more that side of you shows."

Hoshi was at the table on his laptop. He was listening to the soft muttering of conversations upstairs. He smiled to himself. Bronwyn sat down at the table with him. "you seem happy about something." She commented. He nodded. "after all of this time, the family manages to stay together." She nods at him. "that's how a family works. We stay together through good times and bad." Hoshi took a sip of his tea. "I wouldn't doubt that for a second." He put his tea cup down sighing. "well I think I'll out fishing for a while." He got up from the table. He grabbed his dad's boat keys off of the wall. He headed down to the quay. His father's boat rocked steadily in the bay. Hoshi hadn't taken his father's boat since his dad passed. He ran his hand against the smooth wood gently. The wood had long since been ravished by the waves. It held the memories Hoshi shared with his adopted dad. He turned on the small radio sitting in the cabin. "Spanish Sahara" by the Foals began playing. Hoshi untied the front of the boat from the moor. He started the engine up pulling away from the harbor. He headed out to his father's usual fishing spot. He put the boat on idle before tossing the fishing net off to the side. He sighed leaning against the cabin. He hummed to the song that was playing. The sun was setting on the horizon turning the ocean a bright orange. The skies broke out into various shades of purple and blue. Hoshi looked up at the sky. He closed his eyes as the breeze went through his hair. Bronwyn watched her son while he fished out on the water. He yanked the nets back up once they were filled with fish. He opened up the storage chamber and unloaded the fish into it. He stood up again. He noticed his mother watching him from the shore. He smiled waving at her. She waved back. Hoshi fished out on the water for a couple of hours before driving the boat back to shore. He tied his father's boat back up again. "the ice in the holding chamber should keep them cool for a while. I'll be back to unload them in the morning." Bronwyn nodded. Hoshi walked up the steps. He turned to lock the gate. He made sure that the lock was on the latch tight. Bronwyn took Hoshi's hand gently. She walked him back to the café.

Penny had just finished getting her laptop set up for the night. She got changed while she waited for the call to go through. James picked up his phone.

 **James: hey**

 **Penny: hey James**

 **James: so I don't know how this is going to work but we'll figure it out. Though I have to warn you that there will be people moving in and out of my room during the night hours.**

 **Penny: that's okay. I don't care as long as I get to see you.**

 **-James lays down on the bed.—**

 **James: can you still see me?**

 **Penny: yeah. I can still see you**

 **James: good. Now let's try to get some rest.**

Penny lays in front of her laptop. She pulls the blanket up past her shoulder.

 **James: good night Penny**

 **Penny: good night James**

Penny ends up falling asleep in front of her computer screen. James watches her sleep. He smiles before turning out the lamp on his nightstand. He lays his head on his pillow. He continues to watch her sleep for several more minutes before falling asleep himself.

About a week goes by…

Downtown Cardiff was buzzing with life. Thousands of people flocked to Main Street for the Spring Festival. Hoshi hung out with Elvis backstage. He tuned his guitar while waiting for their act to begin. "you ready?" asked Elvis. Hoshi nodded. "yeah. We have a big crowd waiting for us. I never imagined there be this many people." Mused Hoshi. Elvis smiled. "It's like a real rock concert." Hoshi poked his head out. He saw his mother and his sister sitting in the middle row. Sarah had her camera in her hand. Hoshi turned to Elvis. "how long before we're on?" Elvis checked his phone. "in about four minutes." Hoshi slid his guitar over his shoulder. His heart was pounding in his chest. He normally didn't like to perform in front of large crowds. Elvis clasped his shoulder. "Don't worry, Hoshi. Just follow my lead." The hype man walked out onto the stage. "What's good everybody!? Welcome to the 15th annual Spring Festival!" The crowd began cheering. "We have a very awesome program for this evening. We have a band performing for you guys today. Please give a warm to Elvis and the Cridlingtonettes!" The hype man walked back stage. "you guys are up!" Hoshi got up from the wall. He followed in behind Elvis. He slowed his heart rate down so he wouldn't freak out on stage. He looked to see his mother staring at him. She gave him an encouraging smile. Hoshi went over to his microphone. He plugged in his guitar. Elvis began playing his guitar and singing. Hoshi soon followed suit. His vocals melted with Elvis' and pretty soon he forgot about being nervous. A lot of his passion went into singing and playing. He closed his eyes letting himself get lost in the beat. Sarah took pictures of her brother on stage. She smiled looking at them. "go Hoshi!" shouted Bronwyn. Elvis and Hoshi finished singing their song. Elvis put his arm across Hoshi's back before bowing. Both of the boys retreated back stage. Elvis punched Hoshi lightly in the shoulder. "you did awesome out there." Hoshi let out a sigh. "thanks. I honestly thought my heart was going to explode."

Hoshi stayed backstage for several more seconds. He heard the next band performing on stage. He took a sip from his water bottle. "Hoshi!" Sarah ran up to him. She hugged him tightly. "hey Sarah. I hope you've had luck with getting photos." Sarah nodded. "Yeah. I took some great ones of you and Elvis performing. You guys rocked the house." She showed him her photos. Hoshi smiled "I'm not as talented as Elvis. He has better vocals than I do." Hoshi was literally blushing. Sarah looked up at him. "are you kidding? When you two sing it's like two angels ascending on the earth." Hoshi coughed into his hand nervously. "where's mom?" he asked. "she's waiting for us. Come on." She quickly ran off the stage. Hoshi slung his guitar back over his shoulder. Elvis was off to the side talking to Ben. He stayed there staring at them before going off to find his sister. Sarah was standing by his mom. Bronwyn hugged her son tightly. "you were amazing up there love." She whispered. Hoshi hugged his mother. He laid his head on her shoulder. "Hoshi." Ben walked up to them. "I'm so proud of you." Hoshi smiled shaking hands with his mentor. "thanks. Though you need to show Elvis some love too." Ben clasped his shoulder. "I need to talk to you once you get a chance. I know you and Elvis will be performing again later tonight." Hoshi nodded. "I've got a few moments to spare if you want to talk now." Ben looked at Bronwyn. "I'm going to borrow your son if that's okay." She nodded. "of course, Ben." Ben kept his hand on Hoshi's shoulder. The both of them walked away from the stage.

"so what did you talk to me about Boss?" questioned Hoshi. Ben leaned against the railing overlooking the water. "there's something I need to tell you, Hoshi." He began. "my feelings for you are starting to change a bit. I know it sounds a little suggestive but I feel like the emotions I have for you are getting stronger. I try not to let it get to me seeing as we're both working together." Hoshi looked away shyly. "I get it. Your crushing on me. It's okay boss I won't tell anyone." He chuckled. Ben punched his shoulder. "ow!" Hoshi rubbed his shoulder gently. "I'm glad you can put two and two together captain obvious but you didn't let me finish. I'm trying to say that I love you. Hell I think we're past the bro stage as of now." Hoshi put his hand on his heart. "aww, Boss man has feelings for his apprentice." Ben punched him in the shoulder again. "Shut up you!" Hoshi hugged him tightly. "it's okay. I love you more than a bro too. I'm glad you worked up the courage to tell me." He leaned on the railing with Ben. He enjoyed the ocean breeze blowing around him. Ben took his hand in his. "I heard your brother is helping out with the fundraiser." Hoshi raised an eyebrow. "oh? Is he now? How did he manage to do that?" Ben shrugged. "Sam was saying that him and James managed to convince both Nurse Anacker and Doctor Don to let him come out here to help." Hoshi laughed shaking his head. "I wish you were that motivated." Mused Ben. Hoshi turned to face him. "hey!"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The night hours had settled in over Cardiff. Hoshi had returned to do his evening concert. Hoshi signed up to do a solo performance by himself. He was already nervous by the thought of having to go out on stage. "and now, performing his first solo, Hoshizora Gekko-Jones!" He heard the crowd shouting for him. Hoshi let out a small sigh. He walked out onto the stage. He picked up the microphone. "hey everybody." He greeted. "what's going on?! Ya'll enjoying the festival so far?" he asked. He got a ripple of yes from the crowd. "I just want to advertise a small event going on in the park. My brother and a group of my coworkers are hosting a fundraiser in the park. They're helping to fund the PontyPandy Museum. They have a fun little event going on and I recommend you check it out." Hoshi pulled out his guitar. He sat down on his stool looking at the crowd. "I've decided to do a little cover for you guys. It's one of my favorite songs that was performed by The Foals. I hope you guys enjoy." Hoshi began singing to the crowd. Ben watched his boyfriend perform on the stage. He smiled to himself. "you've got a talented son there, Bronwyn." He commented. Bronwyn nodded. "I know. All of my kids are talented." She crossed her arms down in front of her. She listened to her son sing his song. His performance went on for an hour. "thank you!" he bowed before exiting the stage. Hoshi walked over to his family. Bronwyn gave her son a tight hug. "you did great out there, love." He smiled. "thanks mom. I'm tired. I think I'll check out for the night." Bronwyn nodded. "I still have to find your sister and your brother. We'll meet you at the hotel room."

Sarah typed up the rest of her story on her laptop. She sat down on one of those benches that had a WIFI router built into it. She smiled publishing her story on her blog.

 **PontyPandy Adventurer Blog**

 **Spring Festival Day One**

 **Day one of festivities have finally rounded up here in Cardiff. Hoshi and Elvis gave wonderful performances on stage. Their voices entranced the crowd with the various stories that they told in their music. My brother, James has made it down to enjoy the festival despite his current injuries. I heard that the fundraiser Ellie is hosting to help the museum is doing very well. They're raised over 500 pounds to aide with restoration efforts! I still recommend that my fellow readers come down to Cardiff. It would really mean a lot to everyone at the PontyPandy Museum if you did.**

 **Before I go I'll leave you guys with some awesome photos from today's events.**

 **Until my next entry**

 **Sarah Jones**

Sarah closed her laptop sighing. "Sarah!" She looked up to see her mother walking towards her. "hey mom." Bronwyn sat down next to her. "did you manage to catch some good photos?" Sarah nodded smiling. "yeah. I bet my boss will be very pleased too." She leaned against her mother. "we should probably find your brother, James. Hoshi said he'll meet us at the hotel." Sarah walked with her mother down a block. The last bus had arrived at the park to drop its passengers off. James watched some of the passengers drop donations into the jar. Ellie collected the donations out of the jar. She counted them up before adding them to the current total. She showed Aria the current total. "this is great. Pretty soon we'll have enough to make the final repairs to the museum." Ellie sat a little taller. She was glad that she was doing something to help out. James helped Ellie clean up around the booth. Aria placed the donations into a locked box. "I'll take these back to my hotel room. Are you guys going to be okay with doing the clean-up by yourselves?" she asked. Ellie gave her a thumbs' up. "yep. Just leave it to us."

James placed the final box into the back of the van. "there. Everything is packed up." Ellie nodded. "James!" shouted a voice. James turned around in his chair to see his sister, Sarah running towards him. He gave her a one-armed hug when she got close to him. "hey sis. We just got done packing up." He said giving the van door a small pat. "cool. Mom and I have come to pick you up. Hoshi is waiting for us back at the hotel room." James let go of his sister. "alright. On the way there, can you give me a lift to Penny's hotel room? I want to check up on her. I heard she barely had a chance to help out today on account of not feeling well." Sarah frowned. "poor thing. They must've had her on back-up duty." Bronwyn got behind James' wheelchair to push. She pushed him back to the hotel. Penny's room was on the second floor. She laid on her side on her bed. Her skin was a bit flushed. She heard a faint knock at her door. "come in." she rasped. James rolled himself into her room. She sat up seeing him. "James? What are you doing here?" she questioned, surprised that he had been able to leave the hotel. "I came down here to help Ellie then I heard you were sick. I had to come by and visit." He replied. Penny climbed out of bed weakly. She ran over to him tossing her arms around him. James kept her close. He rubbed her back gently. "I've missed you." She whispered. "I've missed you too." He kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry you aren't doing too well at the moment." She knelt down in front of him. He held her hand on his lap. He could see how weak and frail she was. He could tell that she hadn't been taking care of herself like he had asked. "oh Penny. What am I going to do with you?" he asked softly. He soon joined her on her bed. The two of them sat close to the headboard watching TV. Penny laid down on her side with her head resting in his lap. James stroked her hair keeping his gaze on the small TV screen. She relaxed feeling calm under his touch. James laid his head on the headboard. "we managed to raise a small amount for the museum so far. We've got quite a long way to go though." Penny gave a nod of her head. She just enjoyed being in his company. She sat up on her elbows. James gazed down at her. Her face was just inches away from his. Her hands found their way underneath his frame pulling him close to her. He pressed his lips to hers making out with her.

James woke up to the sound of his cellphone going off. He slowly felt around on the nightstand for it. He sniffed softly as he picked up.

 **James: (yawning) hello?**

 **Bronwyn: hey James. I was wondering if you wanted me to come by and get you?**

 **James: I would ask you but right now I really don't want to leave Penny by herself tonight.**

 **Bronwyn: okay dear. I just called to check up on you. How is she?**

 **James: she looks very sick. I have a feeling it's mostly stress that's made her this way. I just feel guilty that she's like this.**

 **Bronwyn: that's what happens when you have someone who loves you, dear. Sometimes the very thought of keeping yourself in good condition fades away when someone you care about is in a frightening position.**

 **James: is that how you were with dad?**

 **Bronwyn: (sighs sadly) yes dear. I was that way when your father had his moments of weakness. He was that way when I was unable to take care of myself.**

 **James: I see. I'll see you in the morning then mom**

 **Bronwyn: sweet dreams James**

James placed his phone down on the nightstand gently. He laid back on his side facing the wall. He felt Penny cuddle up with him from behind. Her warm skin pressed up against his. He rolled over to face her. _Penny has given up her health in order to look after me. Why? She didn't need to do that. I didn't mean to make her feel stressed out._ He thought sadly. He ran his good hand across her cheek. _I need to get stronger for her. I don't know how just yet but I'll figure that out._ James went back to sleep.

Hoshi slept on the window sill overlooking the night life. He watched people move up and down the sidewalk down below. "Hoshi." Bronwyn moved the blinds to see him. Hoshi opened one eye. "are you sure you don't want to sleep on the bed?" he nodded. "you and Sarah need a place to sleep. I'm fine right here." He whispered. Hoshi pulled the blanket up over his shoulders. He settled down more on his cot. "Okay dear." Bronwyn let the blinds cover him again. She stood there watching him for several more minutes. Hoshi leaned his head against the glass. He let out a soft sigh closing his eyes. Bronwyn was just about to go back to bed when Hoshi stopped her. "I take it you don't want to sleep alone?" he asked quietly. Bronwyn remained quiet. She heard the blinds move indicating that Hoshi was moving from his spot. He hugged his mom from behind. "alright I'll sleep with you." Bronwyn smiled. She hugged him back in return. Hoshi settled down in bed with her. He watched his mother sleep. He sat up against the headboard watching her. He stayed by her side for most of the night until he retreated back to the window sill. He sat up on the sill to watch the rest of his family sleep until the wings of exhaustion grabbed him.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Hoshi woke up the next morning. He found himself laying on his mother's bed. "what the?" He looked around. Sarah was on her computer. "good morning sleeping beauty." She mused. She closed out of her word document. "how did I end up here?" he asked rubbing his eyes. "I think the answer your looking for is in your question." She replied closing her laptop. He tossed the blankets back. "speaking of mom, where is she?" Sarah pushed her laptop into her bag. "she went to take James to work. That leaves you and me to go get breakfast." She grabbed her clothes out of the dresser. "I'm going to get changed in the bathroom. You can get changed out here." Hoshi nodded climbing out of bed. He went looking through his bag. He pulled out a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. He got changed into them. He waited for his sister to finish getting ready. She walked out of the bathroom. "I think mom put the spare key on the dresser." Hoshi tapped his pocket. "I got it. Let's go." He opened the door for his sister. Sarah slung her laptop bag over her shoulder as she walked out of the room. Hoshi locked up the door behind them. Sarah quieted her movement to avoid waking anyone up. Hoshi just stared at her. "you know you don't need to move around like that, right?" Sarah looked at him. "I'm just being considerate." He chuckled. "you are being weird. Stop that. Just walk." He strutted right on past her. He had a bit of gangster walk going on as he did so. He turned around to face her. "see? Walking isn't that hard." Sarah shook her head. She followed after him. Hoshi waited down near the elevator for her. He was messing around on his phone while he waited. "glad you finally showed up." He tucked his phone back into his pocket. "I would have been here sooner if you hadn't of given me a walking tutorial." She scoffed. Hoshi cracked his signature grin. "I was only doing my brotherly duty." He punched the "down" button on the elevator. "brotherly duty my ass." She slapped him across the shoulder. The elevator finally reached their floor. The doors opened to let them in. Sarah strutted past Hoshi while he was distracted. She smirked at him. She kept her hand hovered over the button used to close the door. "it's not that hard." She repeated in a mocking tone. Hoshi looked up. "Hey!" Sarah closed the doors on him, chuckling. She opened the doors back up. Hoshi walked onto the elevator. "Not funny!" he spat. Sarah leaned against him. "I'm just doing my "sisterly duty." "She made air quotes with her fingers. Hoshi huffed softly under his breath.

The elevator opened on the bottom floor. Sarah stepped off the elevator first. Hoshi checked his phone one last time. "mom is on her way back to the hotel. I think she'll be joining us for breakfast." He stuck his phone back on his belt. He turned the volume up on his phone. "did you want to wait for her?" he asked. Sarah nodded. "yeah. We might as well." The both of them sat down in the lobby. Sarah logged into the WIFI on her laptop. "what fucked up article do they have you writing now?" questioned Hoshi. "I'm looking at the news. I have to keep up with what's happening overseas." He glanced up at her. "why though?" Sarah sighed moving her hands away from the keyboard. "you know why Hoshi. I'm going over there once the festival is over." Hoshi sighed. "I really wished you didn't. That place is a warzone right now." Sarah held her arm. "I know. Mom has said the exact same thing. I have to go. It's a part of my job." Hoshi got up. "No, it's not. It's not your job. You shouldn't have to go to a warzone just so you can do a web article. Losing your life is not worth a fucking job where you have to lie about what's going on!" He punched the pole next to him. "it's fucking shitheads like that who cause half of the fucking wars we have to fight in." He snapped. Sarah noticed people were beginning to stare. She quickly yanked her brother off to a private area. "look just calm down okay? You'll end up having to go back to the hospital if you keep doing that." She whispered. He sighed. He unclenched his fist letting the dry wall dust fall onto the carpet. He looked up to see someone trying to steal his sister's laptop. "Hey!" he yelled. The thief quickly yanked it off the table. He made off with it. Hoshi took off after him. The thief tried to lose him down an alleyway but that didn't work. Hoshi scaled the wall after him. He grabbed the man by the ankle dragging him down. He gave the man a solid punch in the face breaking his nose. He yanked his sister's laptop away from him. He began cussing the man out in Russian. "Mat', ublyudok, yesli ya poymayu tebya snova na krazhe u moyey sestry" The man got up from his feet. "I'm sorry. It's yours." The man ran off.

Hoshi returned to the hotel. He handed Sarah her laptop back. "don't leave your shit unattended." He muttered. Sarah hugged him. "thank you." Hoshi hugged her back. Hoshi sat back down in the lobby. He began to play a game on his phone. Bronwyn walked on her kids sitting together. "good morning you two." She greeted them. "hey mom." Sarah got up and hugged her mom. Hoshi huffed a soft greeting. He placed his phone on his belt as he stood up. "sorry to keep you waiting. I had to take care of your brother this morning." Hoshi held up his hand. "it's fine. Family comes first." Bronwyn noticed the tone of Hoshi's voice changed. She looked at Sarah with a raised eyebrow. "he had to chase a guy halfway down the block. The jackass stole my laptop." Bronwyn slapped Sarah lightly upside the head. "ow!" "language!" scolded Bronwyn. "your brother, James is the only one that doesn't cuss around me." Hoshi giggled lightly. He had a joke that he was going to keep to himself. Breakfast was being served in the dining room. They had a variety of breakfast items in the buffet. Sarah grabbed a couple of muffins from the desert table. She got herself a glass of orange juice. Hoshi had loaded up his plate with all sorts of things. Sarah shook her head at him. "why do you have so much food?" He shrugged. "why not? It's free." He countered. He placed his plate down at their table. He began eating some of the eggs on his plate. "so what do you guys have planned today?" asked Bronwyn. Hoshi laid his fork down. "Elvis and I are going down to the beach today for a performance. He suggested that we get as many gigs as possible while we're here." He went back to eating his breakfast. "I'll be keeping track of today's events." Replied Sarah. She tapped her laptop gently. Bronwyn nodded. "It sounds like all of my kids are busy." She commented. Hoshi tried to talk to her but his mouth was full of food. Sarah punched him lightly on the shoulder. "swallow then talk you dork!" Hoshi gulped down whatever was in his mouth. He let some of it hang on his tongue. He stuck his tongue out at his sister who saw it. She punched him again. "asshole!" Bronwyn sighed. "language!"

James tapped his pen on the side of his clipboard. He watched people walk back and forth on the sidewalk in front of him. He waited for the bus to come back. Ellie leaned forward in her chair. "I really should of thought of some way to keep us entertained." She laid her head on the table. James giggled softly. "sometimes the thought of having to entertain yourself escapes when you want to help others." Ellie ruffled James' hair. "you sound exactly like your Uncle sometimes. I wonder if you two are secretly the same person in disguise." The bus that they were waiting on finally arrived. The passengers showed their maps to Aria. She smiled. "Team four and Team one got the route correct. Congrats." She took their maps from them. She handed out prizes to the winners. The other passengers dropped donations into the jar on the table. Ellie fished them out and placed them into a dark green metal box for safe keeping. She tucked the metal box under the booth laying her feet on top of it. "I heard that this neighborhood is a little questionable." She explained before James could even ask. James just shrugged. "that makes sense." Ellie checked the time on her phone. "if you want to take your break now, James you can." James unlocked his wheelchair. "if you're sure Ellie. I'm going to head down to one of the nearby restaurants. Just give me a call if you need me to come back early." Ellie gave him a thumbs' up. James rolled away from her. There was a small restaurant about thirty feet from the bus stop. James sat outside to enjoy the view. He also kept the booth within view. He took a sip of his tea. He sighed to himself. Penny was still in her hotel room. Her condition bugged him an awful lot. He sighed quietly. "what am I going to do with her?" he wondered. He sat his cup down on the table. The server came out with his lunch. "here you go." She sat a plate of Fish and Chips down in front of him. James smiled kindly thanking her. He began to eat his lunch while he checked his phone.

The day soon filtered into night. James and Ellie packed up the booth when the last bus left. James headed back to Penny's hotel room. He knocked on the door quietly. Penny got up from her bed. She let James into her room. "how did today go?" she asked as she made tea for the both of them. "well I think. We did get a fair number of donations." Penny nodded. "are you going to be staying here tonight then?" James smiled. "that's the idea. My mom was saying that there really isn't much room in their hotel room right now." Penny sat at the table with James. She looked really tired. "did you get any sleep at all?" questioned James. "some. Not a lot. I had a really wicked headache that kept me up most of the day." James checked the small bag he had attached to his wheelchair. He fished a small bottle of pills out of it. He handed it to her. "here. Take these. They're my pain medications but they should help you." Penny checked the label on the bottle. "only take one." Cautioned James. "if you take more than one, you will suffer from hallucinations or worse." Penny shook out a tablet from the bottle. She used her tea to wash it down. "I called my sister, Finley, today. She really wants to meet you." James nodded. "I wouldn't mind meeting some of your folks once the festival is over." Penny gritted her teeth. "well-we may have one problem. My sister will be here tomorrow. She didn't even give me a chance to ask her to wait." James giggled uncomfortably. "oh dear." James settled down in bed with Penny. He held her close to his chest. Penny laid her head down on his chest. "good night Penny." Penny yawned. "good night James."

James woke up the next morning to an urgent phone call from Ellie.

 **Ellie: James? I think the van was ransacked last night.**

 **James: what?! Was anything stolen?!**

 **Ellie: yeah…The green box that had all of our donations in it was taken last night.**


End file.
